GOD of Cricket -Sachin Tendulkar's Mumbai Indians -Edition 2

[ajithfederer]

Preview: Conflicting fortunes
12.04.2010

Mumbai: Following three difficult games on the road, the Mumbai Indians return to the Brabourne Stadium for their last home game of IPL Season-3 against Delhi Daredevils on Tuesday afternoon. The tickets for the game have been sold out two weeks in advance, as ‘The Mumbai Paltan’ prepares itself for a last peak at the MI superstars in their home stadium.

Delhi Daredevils come into the contest having capitulated to the Kings XI Punjab on Sunday, knowing that a loss here could put them out of reckoning for a semi-final berth. Mumbai have the luxury of striking a balance between experimenting and retaining their momentum in a high-voltage clash.

Sachin Tendulkar comes into the game with 512 runs from 11 matches, with an average of over fifty and a strike rate of a shade under 140. His dream run includes five match-winning fifties, and the maestro would be keen to score at one or two more outings before heading to Bangalore for the semi-final.

Mumbai, who have won five of the six games at the Brabourne so far, realise that Daredevils could emerge as a potential opponent in either the semi-final or final. Hence, expect Tendulkar’s rampant outfit to continue with a winning combination, barring the leeway of a few experiments. Their two frontline pacers – Lasith Malinga and Zaheer Khan – are most likely to be rested at some stage.

Head-to-Head

Delhi Daredevils are currently leading 3-2 in this rivalry. Mumbai handed Delhi a heavy defeat earlier in the tournament at the Feroz Shah Kotla, thanks to brisk half-centuries from openers Sachin Tendulkar and Shikhar Dhawan. Delhi faltered to 120 all out while chasing a daunting target of 219.

Delhi is the only team besides Chennai Super Kings to have qualified for the semi-finals in the previous two editions, but could be on their way out of the tournament if they put a wrong foot on Tuesday.

Last hurrah for the Brabourne Stadium...

The venue has seen Mumbai chase down three totals in excess of 155, and scale the 180-run mark on more than a few occasions. Most importantly, Mumbai have suffered just the solitary blemish in the six games here thus far. The crowds here have been rated as one of the best in the country, and would look forward to chanting “Maalingaaa... Maaalinga...” for one last time this season.

The only day game here saw Mumbai amass a massive 212-6, and Rajasthan making a fist of the chase, falling short by just four runs. The moisture on the surface should be significantly less during Tuesday’s game and would make for friendlier batting conditions. Expect a run-feast.

Injury Update

Ashish Nehra’s return from injury augers well for Delhi Daredevils, while Mumbai are still waiting for a fully fit all-rounder Abhishek Nayar who is yet to feature in a game this season.

In some positive news for Delhi, Dirk Nannes could be fast tracked into the playing XI on Tuesday.

Key Players

Virender Sehwag is Delhi’s leading run-getter with 324 runs at a strike rate of 170. His performance at the top of the order is all the more crucial as it is a day game and Delhi’s quality spin bowling duo of Amit Mishra and Daniel Vettori are unlikely to be as effective.

Sanath Jayasuriya returned to Mumbai’s top-order after missing nine matches on the trot. Mumbai’s batting came under the hammer during their losses to Chennai and Punjab last week, and that is the primary reason for the return of the ‘Matara Mauler’. He brings in a wealth of experience with his batting. Besides, it would be suicidal for any opposition to underestimate his bowling credentials.

Team Update

The stories of Mumbai Indians’ over-dependence on Tendulkar ended on Sunday, as JP Duminy and Kieron Pollard added 50-plus partnerships with their skipper to bring stability to the middle-order. Also, the trio of Saurabh Tiwary, Shikhar Dhawan and Ambati Rayudu has been consistently performing all through the season. MI would be hoping for all their batsmen to fire on all cylinders. The verdict: there would be experiments made to the XI but do not expect any wholesome changes.

Delhi Daredevils are likely to stick with Warner-Collingwood-Vettori-Maharoof as their international quartet. Nannes could force his way in place of Maharoof, if the left-armer is declared fit on match day.

Mumbai Indians: Sachin Tendulkar (capt), Lasith Malinga, Kieron Pollard, Ambati Rayudu, Chandan Madan, Syed Sahabuddin, Dhawal Kulkarni, Shikhar Dhawan, Graham Napier, Dilhara Fernando, Dwayne Bravo, Zaheer Khan, Ali Murtaza, Saurabh Tiwary, R Sathish, Aditya Tare, Ishan Malhotra, Rahul Shukla, Abhishek Nayar, JP Duminy, Sanath Jayasuriya, Harbhajan Singh.

Delhi Daredevils: Gautam Gambhir (capt), AB de Villiers, Umesh Yadav, Kedar Jadhav, Wayne Parnell, Shashi Ranjan, Ashish Nehra, Mithun Manhas, Andrew McDonald, Farveez Maharoof, Virender Sehwag, Dinesh Karthik, Joginder Singh, Pradeep Sangwan, Amit Mishra, Moises Henriques, Sarandeep Singh, Sarabjit Ladda, Aavishkar Salvi, David Warner, Dirk Nannes, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Rajat Bhatia.

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