Indian Premier League predictions: Mumbai can complete hat-trick of titles

Free cricket tips, best bets and analysis for the Indian Premier League which starts on Friday, April 9.

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Best bets

Mumbai Indians to win the IPL
3pts 3-1 Hills

Suryakumar Yadav top Mumbai Indians tournament runscorer
1pt 5-1 Hills

Deepak Chahar top tournament wicket-taker
1pt each-way 33-1 BoyleSports

Indian Premier League preview

Mumbai Indians won the 2019 Indian Premier League final by just one run but they were far more comprehensive champions last season and are equipped to complete a hat-trick in 2021.

Rohit Sharma's men finished top of the league stage of the 2020 tournament in the UAE before a thumping playoff win over Delhi Capitals and a five-wicket victory against the same opponents in the final on November 10.

Mumbai look to have all bases covered and their outstanding core of Indian players gives them an edge over their rivals.

Only four overseas stars are permitted in the playing 11 and Mumbai have some superb homegrown talent with skipper Sharma, fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah and all-rounder Hardik Pandya established India internationals.

Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav and Krunal Pandya also impressed in India's recent T20 and ODI wins over England and the defending champions have retained South Africa's Quinton de Kock, New Zealand's Trent Boult – man of the match in last year's final – and Kieron Pollard, who hit six sixes in an over for the West Indies against Sri Lanka in March.

Archer injury is a huge blow for Royals

Delhi are rated the biggest threat to Mumbai again with South Africa pacemen Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje returning after a successful 2020 campaign and Rishabh Pant developing into one of the world's most exciting T20 batting talents.

However, the injury to inspirational captain Shreyas Iyer, who top-scored in the 2020 final, is a huge blow for the Capitals.

Royal Challengers Bangalore could line up with Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers and Glenn Maxwell in their top order but they finished bottom with a similarly star-studded line-up when the tournament was last held in India in 2019.

Rajasthan Royals would have been of interest at a big price with Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler available for the entire season but the loss of Jofra Archer, man of the tournament in 2020, leaves their bowling attack looking vulnerable.

Mumbai star can hit the heights again

Suryakumar Yadav sparkled in his first T20 international series against England in March, slamming 89 runs off 48 balls in two innings, and he is a big price to be Mumbai's top runscorer.

The man known as SKY should be high on confidence after his spectacular international debut and he has scored 480, 424 and 512 runs in his last three IPL seasons.

Chennai Super Kings' ageing squad finished seventh last season, winning only three of their first 11 games before a late surge once they were out of the playoff race.

However, they have an interesting contender in the top tournament wicket-taker heat in the form of India swing bowler Deepak Chahar, who was the third-most successful bowler in 2019 with 22 wickets in 17 games.

Chahar took 3-4 against the West Indies in only his second T20 international in 2018 before claiming world-record figures of 6-7 against Bangladesh in Nagpur in November 2019 and he is worth a small each-way bet to recapture his best form.

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