When Mumbai Indians pulled off a heist against Kolkata Knight Riders in what was their last home game of the season and keep themselves in the hunt for a Playoff place, even the home tigers wouldn’t have thought that they would be able to return to the Wankhede Stadium during the eighth edition of the Indian Premier League.

Wankhede was still to host another game, on May 19. Since it was to be the first qualifier, played between the top two teams of the group stage, the chances of Mumbai Indians featuring in it were remote. Weather intervention in the penultimate game of the league stage in Bangalore on Sunday opened up a possibility for Mumbai Indians returning to their fortress one more time, this season. And they pounced on it in style, annihilating Sunrisers Hyderabad in the last league game to not only make the cut into the last four but, also to finish second in the points table.

Here they are now: set to face arch-rivals in the first of the four Playoff games, with the advantage of having a decent chance of making it to the final. Rather than giving themselves a second chance of playing the second qualifier in Ranchi if they lose to Chennai Super Kings, Mumbai Indians would like to book a flight to Kolkata by overcoming Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s men.

After all, Chennai Super Kings may have qualified at the top of the standings, but Rohit Sharma’s men are a team on a roll. Despite having conceded their first four games, Mumbai Indians reigned supreme in eight of their next ten games to qualify for the Playoffs. With the team looking as good as, if not better, (than) Chennai Super Kings are in real danger of being stretched to the hilt.

The eleven that featured in the Mumbai Indian’s last two games has appeared to be such a well-oiled unit, that they do not seem to be lacking in any department. And the fact that they would be up against Chennai Super Kings, would come as an additional motivation.

Over the years, there has been little to choose between two IPL powerhouses. Their head to head record, including IPL and Champions League Twenty20 clashes, is tied at 11 apiece. Interestingly this year, the Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings have beaten each other away from home. As a result, after succumbing to Chennai Super Kings early on in the tournament, Mumbai Indians would be keen to reverse the trend and go one up against the two-times IPL champions.

Despite a neck-to-neck record against Mumbai Indians, Rohit Sharma’s men would know that their record against the Super Kings is far from impressive. Despite beating Chennai Super Kings in the final to win the 2013 IPL title, Mumbai Indians have lost four other matches against Dhoni’s men in Playoffs.

However, none of those five Playoff games have been played at the Wankhede Stadium. With the Paltan firmly behind Rohit’s men, Mumbai Indians would be firm favourites to outdo the Super Kings and book their third IPL final.