Ravi Shastri (l), Hardik Pandya and Ruturaj Gaikwad A short break in the toss caught the eye when commentator Ravi Shastri appeared to forget Chennai Super Kings captain Ruturaj Gaikwad’s name during the IPL 2026 match against Mumbai Indians on Thursday.Leading the toss, Shastri introduced Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya but stopped short before naming Gaikwad.“For the Blues (MI) it’s Hardik Pandya, for the Yellows,” Shastri paused before adopting the name “Ruturaj Gaikwad”.
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Varun Aaron on team performance and key momentsPandya won the toss and opted to bowl first in the match between the two five-time champions.Mumbai Indians fielded the same playing XI from the previous match, with Rohit Sharma missing his third game in a row due to a hamstring problem.For Chennai Super Kings, MS Dhoni is still recovering from a calf strain and has not played a single game in IPL 2026.Speaking on the toss, Pandya said: “We’ll go bowling first. I think a lot of boxes were ticked (in the last game against GT). The intensity was there. I think we needed the kind of game where everyone comes and chips in. Yes, we had a perfect game. Yes, I think it was a conscious effort – no matter what happens, the intensity is in your power to enjoy it.”Gaikwad said: “We would have bowled first as well, but it was a 50-50 call. It looks good. When you come here to the Wankhede Stadium, you have to bat well whether you’re batting first or batting first. So it’s just about putting on a great show even if you’re batting first. We’re doing really well. We can’t just earn a few moments.”TeamsMumbai Indians: Hardik Pandya (c), Quinton de Kock (wk), Naman Dhir, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Sherfane Rutherford, Mitchell Santner, Jasprit Bumrah, Krish Bhagat, AM Ghazanfar and Ashwani Kumar.Chennai Super Kings: Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Sanju Samson (wk), Sarfaraz Khan, Dewald Brevis, Shivam Dube, Kartik Sharma, Jamie Overton, Noor Ahmad, Anshul Kamboj, Gurjapneet Singh and Mukesh Choudhary
