MI vs CSK Toss & Playing XI, IPL 2026: Mumbai Wins Toss and Opts to Bowl First in Match 33

Mumbai Indians are scheduled to take on Chennai Super Kings in the 33rd match of Indian Premier League 2026 at the Wankhede Stadium. Arguably the biggest rivalry in the league, the two teams are set to face each other at a crucial stage of the tournament and will be eager to climb up the points table. Both teams currently have 2 wins each under their belt and will view this game as vital in their campaign.

Mumbai Indians will look to carry on from their confidence-boosting victory over Gujarat Titans. Hardik Pandya-led Mumbai Indians seem to have found their feet in the tournament after a rather slow start to the season. Their batting appears to be settling and their bowling seems to have picked up form in recent games. This will be Mumbai Indians' fourth game at the Wankhede this season. High scoring games have been frequent here and Mumbai Indians will aim to continue the winning momentum, taking advantage of the home conditions.

Chennai Super Kings have had a rather disappointing run so far this season and will be under the pump to get the job done. Their captain, Ruturaj Gaikwad has not performed as well as expected with the bat and there have been quite a few injuries in the squad, which has also hampered them. After the exclusion of Ayush Mhatre from the squad, Urvil Patel is most likely to be given a chance. Whether MS Dhoni features in the starting XI for Chennai Super Kings is also a question. They will likely want to bat first in the game and put up a substantial score, as chasing high totals has not been easy for them at this venue in recent times.

At the toss, Mumbai have won and chose to bowl first. Mumbai Indians goes unchanged, while CSK has made a forced change and brought in Prashant Veer for Matt Short. It's for the first time since 2011 that MI vs CSK is being played without Rohit Sharma and MS Dhoni.

Here's what the captains said at the toss:

Hardik Pandya:

"We are going to bowl first. I think a lot of boxes were ticked. The intensity was there. I think we needed that kind of a game where everyone comes in and chips in. Yeah, we had a perfect game. Yes, I think that was a conscious effort - that no matter what happens, intensity is in your control. I just wanted to make sure that we enjoy ourselves. I think things were becoming quite serious. Cricket is played best when you are enjoying the sport. A lot of things happen, right! So yeah, we just wanted to have fun. Things went our way and it was a good game. This pitch looks green, but it did against the KKR game as well, and it played pretty well. It’s going to be a good track. Just want to see how much we have on the board and chase it. Same team."

Ruturaj Gaikwad:

"We would have bowled first as well, but it was a 50-50 call. It looks a good wicket and coming here at Wankhede Stadium, you have to bat well irrespective of whether you’re batting first or bowling first. So it is just about putting up a great show even if you’re batting first. We are doing really well. It’s just that we are not able to cash in on a couple of moments. But I think we pulled it back really well during our bowling in the last game. Even batting, we had started off really well. But as I said, it’s just a couple of moments where we have to make sure we cash in and we get that win. But everyone is confident and ready to go. (Wherever you go, men in yellow, there’s a lot of noise?) Yes, obviously all thanks to the legend (Dhoni) who is not here unfortunately. But obviously it is because of him. Everywhere you go, we have a lot of support. So hopefully we’ll make them happy tonight. We’ve got a couple of changes."

MI vs CSK Playing XI

Mumbai Indians (Playing XI): Quinton de Kock (wk), Naman Dhir, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya (c), Tilak Varma, Sherfane Rutherford, Mitchell Santner, Jasprit Bumrah, Krish Bhagat, AM Ghazanfar, Ashwani Kumar

MI Impact subs: Will Jacks, Raj Bawa, Shardul Thakur, Danish Malewar, Mayank Markande

Chennai Super Kings (Playing XI): Sanju Samson (wk), Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Sarfaraz Khan, Dewald Brevis, Shivam Dube, Kartik Sharma, Jamie Overton, Noor Ahmad, Anshul Kamboj, Gurjapneet Singh, Mukesh Choudhary

CSK Impact subs: Prashant Veer, Matthew Short, Matt Henry, Akeal Hosein, Urvil Patel