IPL Final odds & tips for Mumbai Indians vs. Chennai Super Kings

8:00pm local time on Saturday, May 24th, 2015 the Eden Gardens, Kolkata

Mumbai Indians – $2.10

Chennai Super Kings – $1.75 at WilliamHill.com.au – Sign up today and use $700 in bonus bets!

Here it is – the culmination of six weeks of hard work and captivating games comes down to this.

The Mumbai Indians facing off against the Chennai Super Kings – the winner to be crowned the champion of the Indian Premier League.

The Mumbai Indians were the first to qualify for Sunday’s final after overcoming their ‘hoodoo’ team, the Super Kings in the first qualifier, and they will have to repeat the dose if they are to hoist the trophy on Sunday.

The loss one of the best short-form batsmen in the world Brendan McCullum to international duty did not hurt as much as anticipated, and the team added explosive Englishman Alex Hales to the squad, who may debut for the Indians in the final. McCullum’s absence could prove pivotal in the final though, with a lack of true batting quality now glaringly obvious at the top of the order.

Another man the Indians will not have at their disposal is veteran spinner Harbhajan Singh, who has been sensationally called back up for international duty. Singh was one of the main reasons his team made it through to the final with two crucial wickets and always proves a tight line and consistent economy rate.

They face the Chennai Super Kings, the team they defeated in the first qualifier to secure the first place in the final.

The Super Kings have added Mike Hussey to their playing stocks, but also have firepower in the form of MS Dohni and Faf Du Plessis, both of whom are in red-hot form and have the ability to singlehandedly take a game away from an opponent. The team bats deeper than almost any other in the IPL, and have players all the way down to number seven that are capable of hitting the boundaries.

The Super Kings have been a dominant force in the IPL and are looking to get their third title in eight years, while the Mumbai Indians are looking to secure their second overall title.

Probable team selections

Mumbai Indians: Lendl Simmons, Alex Hales, Parthiv Patel (wk), Rohit Sharma (C), Ambati Rayudu, Kieron Pollard, Hardik Pandya, J Suchith, Mitchell McClenaghan, Vinay Kumar, Lasith Malinga.

Chennai Super Kings:MS Dhoni (C and wk), Michael Hussey, Faf du Plessis, Suresh Raina, Pawan Negi, Dwayne Bravo, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ashish Nehra, Mohit Sharma, Dwayne Smith, Ravindra Jadeja.

Match predictions

Odds provided by Williamhill.com.au

Result – Chennai Super Kings – $1.75

YES there will be a wicket in the first over – $6

Highest individual score – Chennai Super Kings – $1.80

The Chennai Super Kings are looking to become the most prolific team in the history of the IPL, and with the addition of Mike Hussey – which has been a master stroke for Chennai – the Australian veteran has become a fantastic anchor which frees up the dangerous Faf du Plessis, MS Dhoni and Pawan Negi to swing the arms and attack the boundaries.

The Indians will feel aggrieved by the exclusions of two of their best players in Brenndan McCullum and Harbhajan Singh, both of whom have been called in to their respective countries for international duty.

This means a lot will rest on the shoulders of a few star players for the Indians.

The key to the match will be Lasith Malinga, if the Sri Lankan spearhead can make an impact and take a few wickets, anything can happen, but if he is unable to impart a real influence on the match it is hard to see the Indians winning the title.

Best bets for top team batsman

Mumbai Indians – Lendl Simmons – $3.50 via Sportsbet

The mercurial Simmons has been a barometer of sorts for the Indians, with some terrific scores contrasted with some disappointing efforts, but his top score of 65 in the first qualifier was one of the decisive factors in getting his team across the line.

Four times this IPL Simmons has surpassed 50 runs, and if the West Indian heavy hitter can match his previous feats this season, not only will it go a long way to securing the IPL title, but he will be very much in contention for most runs in the match.

Chennai Super Kings – Faf du Plessis – $4.50 via Sportsbet

The South African master-blaster has been in terrific form in the IPL this season, only failing to score 20 or more runs once for the Super Kings.

In a team that now has Mike Hussey opening the batting, it frees du Plessis to come in with runs on the board and attack the bowlers.

Du Plessis is one of only a handful of batsmen that has a T20 100 to his name, and if he is given a chance in the final he can accumulate runs at a very fast rate.

IPL betting odds for top team bowler

Mumbai Indians – Lasith Malinga – $4 via Sportsbet

The Sri Lankan slinger has not conceded over 35 runs this IPL season and has taken at least one wicket in all his previous matches.

Malinga is unlike any other bowler in the world in that he can devastate an attack with just one over of ferociously fast bowling, and his unpredictably plays heavily into the minds of the batsmen as they are never quite sure what he is capable of.

Chennai Super Kings – Ravichandran Ashwin – $4.50 via Sportsbet

The Indian spinner has not been a prolific wicket taker thus far in the IPL, but he always presents a constant threat.

Typically sides tend to play defensively against Ashwin and try and see the off-spinner out of the attack without too much damage, but if a side is chasing runs and Ashwin is in the bowling attack, wickets will be in order.

The Carrom ball is Ashwin’s main attacking weapon, and if he get this delivery on point and on target, Ashwin can be the match winner.