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Reports: McIlroy meets deadline to maintain European Tour membership
Published in
Golf
Saturday, 11 May 2019 03:50
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Rory McIlroy remains an active member of the European Tour.
Reports from The Independent and Daily Express indicate that McIlroy did meet the deadline to maintain his membership.
The news comes after McIlroy publicly mentioned last November at the DP World Tour Championship that he may opt to forfeit his status in 2019.
“Right now, that is all sort of up in the air, but if it were to be that I don’t fulfill my membership next year, it’s not a Ryder Cup year, so it’s not the end of the world,” he said at the time. “I am always going to want to play the Ryder Cup, so if that does happen, so be it, and I will try and make the Ryder Cup team the year after.”
McIlroy doubled down in January at the Sentry Tournament of Champions, saying he believes he has "done [his] time" on the European Tour, that he wants to travel less and spend more time at home, and that he would "much rather go down the stretch against Justin Thomas or Dustin Johnson."
"I’m not putting anyone down in Europe," he added, "but the depths of the field and everything is just that little bit better over here."
McIlroy needs to play just four European Tour events — not counting the majors or World Golf Championships — to satisfy the minimum membership requirement. Per the Express, he is expected to tee it up at the Scottish Open in July, the European Masters in August, the BMW PGA in September and the DP World Tour Championship in November. The Independent notes that McIlroy is unlikely to reverse course on his previously announced decision to skip the Irish Open, an event he has hosted in years past, in the run-up to The Open at Royal Portrush.
“If there is ever a year when I feel I can miss the Irish Open, it’s this year,” McIlroy told the BBC in February. “If I was to play the Irish Open, the Open Championship would be my third event in a row. For me, that’s not the best way to prepare for what could be the biggest event of my life.”
While declining membership in 2019 wouldn't have put McIlroy out of the running for the 2020 Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits, it could have had longer-term implications for the Ulsterman. The European Tour tournament committee introduced a new regulation in January 2018 that "players cannot be a European Ryder Cup captain or a vice captain if they decline membership of the European Tour or fail to fulfill their minimum event obligation in any season, from 2018 onwards."
While it is unclear whether the tour really would have turned down McIlroy for a future captaincy, his decision to hold on to his membership keeps that potentially awkward situation at bay.
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Duncan accidentally hits wife in head with errant approach
Published in
Golf
Saturday, 11 May 2019 04:36
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Tyler Duncan finds himself hunting his first PGA Tour victory through 36 holes at the AT&T Byron Nelson.
Duncan enters the weekend at Trinity Forest tied for second place, four shots behind leader Sung Kang after a Friday 66.
The second-year Tour member dropped just one shot in the second round, but really made two mistakes: carding bogey and accidentally hitting his wife in the head when his approach to the 13th green sailed well to the right.
"Took a big bounce and hit her, I guess. I didn't know until after the round," he said. "I had a little mud on the ball, little unfortunate timing there and shot out to the right and didn't get up and down. ...
"I'm just happy she's not hurt."
Oddly, this was not the first time Duncan's wife, Maria, has been hit in the head by a ball and gotten away relatively unscathed.
"Not long after we started dating, she actually got hit in the head by another ball, a random ball from the driving range," he added. "She's dodged two hits to the head. I'm sure most people can't say that."
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Fleetwood (68) shrugs off illness to make charge at British Masters
Published in
Golf
Saturday, 11 May 2019 08:31
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SOUTHPORT, England – Tommy Fleetwood shrugged off the effects of a virus to move into contention to win the British Masters as a late stumble from Matt Wallace in the third round threw the European Tour event wide open on Saturday.
After going 47 holes without dropping a shot, second-round leader Wallace bogeyed the 12th and ran up a double bogey on the 15th - after his wayward drive hit a spectator on the head - in shooting a 2-under 70. He was level in first place on 14-under 202 overall with Marcus Kinhult (68).
Fleetwood, who is hosting the tournament at Hillside in his home town of Southport in northern England, said he struggled for energy and believes his son Frankie, who had tonsillitis last week, ''has given me something.''
Still, the world No. 16 holed from 25 feet for an eagle on the 11th and also birdied Nos. 12, 14 and 17 to shoot a 68 and delight the sell-out crowd. Fleetwood was 11 under, three strokes off the lead alongside Robert MacIntyre (68).
''It's not been ideal,'' Fleetwood said. ''It's one of them things, just another challenge. I forgot my paracetamol in the bag so Clare (his wife) had to get me some on the 13th tee and that pretty much saved me on the way in.
''Whatever happens, I'm going to be going out late on the back nine on Sunday and the crowd comes to watch that, which is great.''
Scotland's Richie Ramsay, seeking his first win for four years, was two shots off the pace after a 71.
Wallace is still in a good position to claim a fifth European Tour title in just two years.
''We are in great shape,'' he said. ''It's not about winning it on Saturday. It's about putting yourself in good position, so looking forward to tomorrow now.''
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Stricker (70) in driver's seat after third round at Regions Tradition
Published in
Golf
Saturday, 11 May 2019 09:17
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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Steve Stricker didn't have another near-flawless round, but he found a nice way to finish.
He birdied the final hole for a 2-under 70 and held the lead Saturday after three rounds at the Regions Tradition. Bernhard Langer was among three players two strokes back.
Stricker, who shot a second-round 64, enters the final round of the first of five PGA Tour Champions majors at 14-under 202. He was 1 over on the front nine on Greystone's Founders Course after his first bogey of the Tradition but birdied all three par 5s on the back nine.
On the final one, Stricker sent a shot onto the green above the hole on No. 18. His approach had landed in the rough near a bunker.
''I didn't hit the best of second shots,'' Stricker said. ''I tried to hit a 3-wood and hit it really hard and tried to get it into the green. Kind of hit a little thin and rolled it up there.
''I was just trying to give myself a 10-footer, try to play it off the back of the green. I was able to get a good read from Billy Andrade. He showed me the line a little bit and I was able to knock it in.''
Langer, who won the Tradition in 2016 and 2017, shot a 68. David Toms had a 70 and Andrade a 69 for the three-way tie for second. Tom Byrum and Paul Goydos were three shots back. Byrum shot a 66 and Goydos a 69.
The weather held out for the second straight day after the first round was halted at midday. But more thunderstorms were forecast overnight and throughout the morning Sunday, with leaders scheduled to start at 9 a.m. and a two-tee format.
Langer saved par on No. 13 with a nice pitch to a couple of feet from the hole after hitting it in the water. He had his first bogey of the tournament two holes later.
''I mean, there's good bogeys and bad bogeys, and 15 was horrible after a good tee shot, bad layup and then downhill from that point onward,'' Langer said.
He is seeking to become the Tradition's first three-time winner. He already has won a pair of majors three times each, the Senior Players Championship and the Senior Open Championship.
Toms, who counts the 2001 PGA Championship among his 13 PGA Tour wins, made a long putt from the edge of the green on No. 7 for his first birdie of the round.
He won the U.S. Senior Open last year for his only win on the 50-and-over circuit.
''Nobody in our group really got hot,'' Toms said. ''We all played pretty solid and within striking distance. That's kind of what you want come Sunday afternoon. Right there, just have to shoot a low one (Sunday).''
Stricker is seeking his fourth PGA Tour Champions win and first senior major after tying for second at the Tradition last year. He splits time on the PGA Tour but won three times in seven starts last year on the 50-plus circuit.
After a hot second round, he summed up this one as ''just hanging in there.''
''I struggled hitting it at times, didn't feel very comfortable,'' Stricker said. ''I was proud of the way that I hung in there and gutted it out and salvaged a good round out of a round that could have got away from me.''
Charles Schwab Cup leader Scott McCarron was 3 over after a 72, but will retain his No. 1 spot after this weekend.
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Watch: Harrington drains 80-foot birdie putt at Byron Nelson
Published in
Golf
Saturday, 11 May 2019 09:59
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After a wave of thunderstorms rolled through the Dallas area, the third round of the AT&T Byron Nelson finally began just after 3:00 p.m. local time on Saturday. The lengthy delay didn't seem to faze Padraig Harrington.
The 2020 European Ryder Cup captain raced out of the gate with a birdie on the par-5 first hole, but his approach into the par-4 second left a little to be desired, landing 80 feet from the cup.
Harrington read the birdie putt perfectly and make the cross-country lag look like a routine tap-in. The birdie moved him to 2 under on the day, before giving one back at the par-4 third. Another birdie at the fifth moved Harrington back to 2 under and into the top 20.
The leaders aren't set to tee off until 5:40 p.m. local time and sunset is at 8:15 p.m., but play could be suspended because of darkness sooner than that with overcast skies.
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Manchester United "Class of 92" members Gary and Phil Neville, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Nicky Butt and David Beckham are the co-owners of a Football League club after Salford City beat AFC Fylde 3-0 to win the National League playoff final at Wembley.
Goals from Emmanuel Dieseruvwe, Carl Piergianni and Ibou Touray mean Salford are elevated to the fourth tier of English football for the first time in their history after a final between two sides who have never played in the Football League.
Fylde created the game's first danger inside the opening minute when Alex Reid was just unable to get on the end of a low ball into the penalty area.
Salford soon hit back, Scott Wiseman firing narrowly wide from outside the area and Danny Whitehead blasting over.
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They made the breakthrough after quarter of an hour, Devonte Redmond's free-kick causing chaos in the Fylde defence and Dieseruvwe profiting to slide the ball in from close range.
Fylde brought on former Salford player Nick Haughton for the injured Luke Burke in an enforced early change and almost found themselves 2-0 down when a Nathan Pond header went just wide.
Andy Bond fired over for Fylde after a neat exchange of passes had freed him inside the penalty area, but Salford almost doubled their lead within seconds of the start of the second half, Dieseruvwe bulleting a header narrowly wide after a cross from the right.
And after Lois Maynard's shot was deflected over, they took a giant step towards the Football League, defender Piergianni thumping home a header from the resulting corner to make it 2-0.
On the hour it was game over, Touray getting down the left and his intended cross sailing over keeper Jay Lynch and going in off the far post to kick-start the celebrations among the watching former United stars.
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Allan Cruz and Fatai Alashe each scored goals as FC Cincinnati presented interim coach Yoann Damet with a win his coaching debut on Saturday, courtesy of a 2-1 victory over the visiting Montreal Impact.
Darren Mattocks set up Cruz's tally in the seventh minute to end a five-game goal drought for Cincinnati (3-7-2, 11 points), which was playing in its first match since dismissing Alan Koch earlier this week.
Spencer Richey denied a point-blank chance from Anthony Jackson-Hamel in the 89th minute and finished with two saves for Cincinnati, which saw the 29-year-old Damet become the youngest head coach to walk the sideline in a Major League Soccer match. Damet served as the Montreal Impact Under-18 head coach prior to joining Cincinnati.
Orji Okwonkwo substituted into the match in the 63rd minute and scored in the 75th for Montreal (6-5-2, 20 points), which has lost two of its last three matches.
FC Cincinnati ended its scoring drought at 528 minutes after Mattocks worked deep into the left side of the box before sending a centering feed to Cruz, who flicked a left-footed shot that sailed past Evan Bush (zero saves) and under the crossbar.
Cruz's goal was his team-leading second of the season. Prior to the tally, Cincinnati scored an MLS-low eight goals from eight different players.
It also marked Cincinnati's first goal since Mattocks converted a penalty kick in a 1-1 draw against Kansas City on April 7. The win was the team's first since March 24.
Cincinnati doubled its advantage after Roland Lamah weaved inside before Alashe scored from the center of the box for his first goal of the season.
The Impact trimmed the deficit in the 75th minute, as Okwonkwo's diving header bounced past Richey.
Montreal nearly forged a tie at 1 in the 40th minute after Michael Ariza's through ball found Daniel Lovitz for an apparent goal, but officials deemed that the latter player was offside.
Richey preserved Cincinnati's 1-0 advantage by thwarting Samuel Piette's bid at the post in the 58th minute.
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DORTMUND, Germany -- Christian Pulisic scored a goal in his final home match for Borussia Dortmund as the club kept their Bundesliga title hopes alive before the United States star joins Chelsea in a €64 million transfer this summer.
Dortmund beat Fortuna Dusseldorf 3-2 and Bayern Munich drew 0-0 with RB Leipzig on the penultimate matchday of the Bundesliga season. Bayern, two points ahead of their rivals, can secure their seventh consecutive title with a win or draw against Frankfurt next weekend as they have a vastly superior goal difference.
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Pulisic handed Dortmund the lead against Dusseldorf with a close-range header four minutes before half-time and was fighting his emotions when celebrating.
"The goal was just perfect. Thomas [Delaney] headed it right across. I couldn't miss from there. It was a perfect way to start. I was a bit overwhelmed as well. Everything worked out perfect today," Pulisic told reporters after the match.
"Before was honestly the hardest part. They gave me a little ceremony and it hit me when I was walking to the locker room. It was really emotional. My last time. It was not easy."
"It wasn't an easy situation for Christian," Dortmund squad manager Sebastian Kehl explained. "It was very emotional. You could see that in the locker room before the match. But he can just be proud how he solved it today. And also how well he handed the overall situation."
After the restart, Dortmund came out of 15 crazy minutes with a 2-1 lead. That included one goal at both ends, a missed Düsseldorf penalty and a Bayern goal ruled out by the VAR in the Leipzig match that would have handed them the title on the day.
Germany international Mario Gotze and Dusseldorf's Dawid Kownacki scored in injury time to make it 3-2 and ensure that the title would be decided next weekend, while Pulisic was substituted seconds before Gotze's goal and received a standing ovations from the fans, who also welcomed the club's former captain Marcel Schmelzer (who could also have played his last home game for Dortmund) to the pitch.
A draw against Europa League sensations Eintracht Frankfurt would secure the Bavarians yet another title. But Dortmund vowed to fight until the final minutes of the season.
"It was a perfect last home game for me. But we will never give up," Pulisic said. "All we can do is concentrate on what we can do. If we win our game, we have a chance."
Before the match, Pulisic bade farewell to Dortmund's Westfalenstadion and its famous Yellow Wall, Europe's largest standing terrace.
"Thank you all for five wonderful years. Without you fans I would not be here. Dortmund will always feel like home," Pulisic told the stadium in German. "All the best and hopefully see you again one day."
He told reporters: "I have been here for five years. And I felt it was necessary to do it in German. It was the right thing to do to say goodbye in German."
Pulisic made his debut for Borussia Dortmund aged 17 and went on to become the youngest ever player in Germany's top flight to score two goals.
In January 2019, Chelsea signed Pulisic for €64m but loaned him back to Dortmund until the end of the season.
In 89 Bundesliga appearances, Pulisic has now scored 13 goals for Dortmund with another two in 22 Champions League matches, and three in eight DFB-Pokal games. The only trophy he has won during his time at Dortmund was the 2017 German Cup.
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How Man City and Liverpool took over the Premier League
Published in
Soccer
Friday, 10 May 2019 12:38
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The end of the Premier League season is upon us, and barring something extraordinary with the Champions League places, there is just one meaningful thing left to decide. And boy, is it meaningful: Manchester City go into their trip to Brighton a point ahead of Liverpool, who face Wolves at home, therefore knowing that a victory will guarantee the retention of the title.
These two sides have more or less been playing a different sport than the rest of the division this season and will finish at least 20 points ahead of their nearest challengers. So let's look at how their campaigns compare going into the final day.
Goals, goals, goals
Let's start with the basics: Manchester City have 91, Liverpool 87. Mohamed Salah is the biggest proportionate contributor, his 22 strikes representing around 25 percent of Liverpool's league total, but Sergio Aguero and Raheem Sterling are just behind him: they have 20 and 17, respectively, chipping in 41 percent of City's tally between them.
City like to be on the front foot, too: They've scored the first goal in a whopping 83 percent of their games, with Liverpool trailing (just 68 percent) and the rest of the division in the dust. However, Liverpool is your team if you want late drama: 24 of their goals have come after the 75th minute of games, the most in the division by a distance. (Chelsea are next with 19, while City have 13.)
Both sides are fond of an old-fashioned thumping, too: They've each won by four or more goals on six occasions and have only failed to score four times between them, two of which are accounted for by the 0-0 draw at Anfield in October.
If at first you don't succeed, shoot again
It goes without saying that these two sides have scored the most goals in the Premier League this season, but it's also a lot to do with their overall style of play. City have taken 662 shots for those goals, but Liverpool's total is exactly 100 fewer, meaning they score once in roughly every six attempts as opposed to City's once every seven.
Analytic-phobes look away now, but City are more or less matching their expected goals (xG) projection, which is 91.5, while Liverpool are outperforming it: Their xG is 77.8.
Stingy at the back
Both teams have conceded an impressively miserly 22 goals; if both teams keep it tight on Sunday, it'll put them level for third in the Premier League's all-time best defences, alongside Manchester United in 2007-08 and Chelsea in 2005-06, and behind the 17 that Arsenal conceded in 1999 (when they finished second) and Jose Mourinho's first season at Chelsea in 2005, which saw them let in a remarkable 15.
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Liverpool and Man City get set for dramatic finale
With both Liverpool and Manchester City able to be crowned champions, Shaka Hislop gives his predictions on what could be a thrilling Sunday in England.
Furthermore, both sides are outperforming their xG against, which stands at 25.14 for City and 28.26 for Liverpool. It's not just for their kicking and play out from the back that Ederson and Allison are considered two of the best goalkeepers in the world.
Of course, money talks
It's a slight curiosity that both teams spent north of £50 million on players last summer who have been relatively peripheral, with Naby Keita and Riyad Mahrez combining for just 29 league starts between them.
The two teams' most frequently used first XIs cost plenty, but it's no surprise that City's cost more. With the caveat that reported transfer fees are often tough to be 100 percent accurate, City assembled theirs for a total of £422.4 million, while Liverpool's set them back £289.8 million, nearly half of which -- £141.8 million -- went on Alisson and Virgil van Dijk, also featuring two free transfers (Joel Matip and James Milner), an academy product (Trent Alexander-Arnold) and two players purchased from relegated sides (Andrew Robertson and Georginio Wijnaldum).
Second place is the first loser?
With the clubs on 95 and 94 points, respectively, whoever finishes second will have the biggest points total for any runner-up in English top-flight history. The Manchester United side that got 89 points but lost the title on goal difference to City in 2011-12 currently holds the Premier League record, just ahead of the 86 Liverpool and Tottenham got when finishing second in 2009 and 2017. To delve into the archives, the only real comparable figures -- when adjusted for a 38-game season with three points for a win -- are Middlesbrough, with 83 in 1902, and Leeds United, with 82 in 1971.
Real Madrid still hold the record for the top five leagues in Europe, when Manuel Pellegrini's side finished on 96 points but still finished behind Barcelona (99) in 2009. Another current Premier League manager, Maurizio Sarri, guided Napoli to 91 points last season but trailed Juventus.
Is there still some drama ahead?
It sounds wild, but there could be a twist ahead. The two sides could finish level if City lose to Brighton and Liverpool draw with Wolves. Even then, City would probably still win the title on goal difference, but consider this: If it's a 4-4 draw at Anfield and City lose 4-0, the teams would finish on the same points, the same goal difference, the same goals scored and the same goals conceded. Thus, a single game playoff would be required to decide the champions.
It's unlikely, to say the least -- the odds on both of those happening are 63,000-1 -- but what a thing it would be...
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Big Picture
The IPL's 12th edition has earned the blockbuster finale it deserves.
When Chennai Super Kings won last year, they tied Mumbai Indians' record of three IPL titles and opened up a debate about which was the better IPL side. After Sunday, that debate may well be decided.
Mumbai, who reached Hyderabad four days ago, have enjoyed a near-flawless season. They were at the top half of the points table all through and they will end the campaign without knowing what back-to-back losses feel like. It's been a team performance too: a total of four men have scored more than 300 runs for Mumbai and five have taken 10 or more wickets.
This was also the year when Hardik Pandya became Mumbai's premier death-overs batter, taking over from Kieron Pollard. His 386 runs have come at breakneck pace and that's often helped the team put up above-par totals and take down tough targets. Add eight overs of a fitter Lasith Malinga and a fiery Jasprit Bumrah, and you know why Mumbai have reached another IPL final.
For Super Kings, it's about proving popular wisdom wrong once again. A team with an average age near 35 was not supposed to contest in two finals in a row, but MS Dhoni's astute man-management - and a resurgence in personal form - has seen them reach their eighth final in 10 seasons.
With 414 runs, this has been Dhoni's best IPL season and for long it looked like he was carrying the weight of the Super Kings batting on his own. But they come to the final knowing the supporting cast - Faf du Plessis, Shane Watson, Ravindra Jadeja and Mitchell Santner - has produced some match-winning performances too.
Tournament finals are a whole different ball game though and results of yore - including the three times Mumbai have beaten Super Kings this season - carry very little weight in a game where pressure has a bigger role to play than skill. If there's anything Mumbai can hold on to, it's that they return to the same venue where they won their last IPL title in 2017. Oh, and that Rohit - unlike thala - has never lost an IPL final.
Likely XIs
Both teams have made very few changes - unless forced - all tournament. But a change in venue from their previous games could see Mumbai dropping extra spinner Jayant Yadav and bringing allrounder Ben Cutting in. Cutting was Man-of-the-Match when Sunrisers Hyderabad won the IPL 2016 final. Super Kings could offload Shardul Thakur, who bowled an expensive one-over spell in Qualifier 2, for an extra batting option in M Vijay.
Mumbai Indians: 1 Quinton de Kock (wk), 2 Rohit Sharma (capt), 3 Suryakumar Yadav, 4 Ishan Kishan, 5 Hardik Pandya, 6 Krunal Pandya, 7 Kieron Pollard, 8 Ben Cutting, 9 Rahul Chahar, 10 Lasith Malinga, 11 Jasprit Bumrah
Chennai Super Kings: 1 Shane Watson, 2 Faf du Plessis, 3 M Vijay, 4 Suresh Raina, 5 Ambati Rayudu, 6 MS Dhoni, 7 Dwayne Bravo, 8 Ravindra Jadeja, 9 Deepak Chahar, 10 Harbhajan Singh, 11 Imran Tahir
Previous meeting
Mumbai have won all three games against Super Kings in IPL 2019, the first almost wholly thanks to Hardik Pandya, the second thanks to Rohit and Malinga masterclasses and the third thanks to their spinners out-bowling CSK in their own den.
Strategy punt
Don't save Bumrah for the death, save him for Dhoni instead. Overall, Dhoni has a strike-rate of only 102.20 against Bumrah in the IPL, with a dot-ball percentage of 46.20% and three dismissals in seven innings. And this season he is the only pace bowler against whom Dhoni does not have a strike-rate of more than 100.
If Bumrah fails, let Hardik bowl to Dhoni. In seven innings against Hardik, Dhoni has scored only 21 runs in 26 balls. To counter both, Dhoni could promote himself up and take a shot against Mumbai's spin bowlers.
Want to surprise Rohit? Throw in Deepak Chahar with the bat. Chahar's strike-rate of 189.70 between overs 7-15 (in four IPL innings) will allow Super Kings to maximise their run-scoring in a period where designated batsmen Rayudu and Raina have struggled. Ravindra Jadeja, too, could be a useful ploy against Krunal Pandya. Krunal has conceded 9.20 runs per over against left handers this season, while going at only 6.50 per over against right handers.
Stats and Trivia
MS Dhoni, chasing his 100th win as Chennai Super Kings captain, has not struck a boundary off Rahul Chahar, Bumrah, Hardik or Krunal Pandya this year.
The top four run-scorers in IPL finals are all in Super Kings. Suresh Raina (241 runs), M VIjay (181), MS Dhoni (178) and Shane Watson (156) lead the pack.
Teams batting first in IPL finals have won 63.60% of all games.
Mumbai are the only team to have a win-percentage of more than 50 against Super Kings.
Rohit, Harbhajan Singh and Ambati Rayudu will be chasing their fifth IPL titles - the most among any player.
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