Confident Chandigarh face improved Mumbai

Match facts

Oct 13, 2008
Start time 7.30pm (14.00 GMT)

Big Picture

Two of New Zealand's limited-overs greats, Nathan Astle and Chris Cairns, lead teams that come into the tournament with a point to prove; both the Mumbai Champs and the Chandigarh Lions had disastrous campaigns in the previous edition in March despite having several big-name players.

Chandigarh are on a high after winning the warm-up domestic Twenty20 competition last month. The excellent batting form of Dinesh Mongia and TP Singh in the domestic event also gives Chandigarh a boost as the side's troubles in March stemmed from a limp batting outfit which managed just one half-century in seven games.

Mumbai, on the other hand, fared poorly in the domestic tournament and will also be missing the services of Brian Lara. They were let down last season by their misfiring contingent of overseas fast bowlers - Tino Best, Michael Kasprowicz, and to a lesser extent, Johann van der Wath. Their other problem was that there was little support for the in-form batsmen, Nathan Astle and Raviraj Patil, which meant they were able to post totals in excess of 150 on only two occasions. That drawback should be redressed by the inclusion of former Pakistan batsmen Hasan Raza and Taufeeq Umar, who will be playing for his third ICL team when he turns out for Mumbai.

Watch out for

Dinesh Mongia: Mongia was outstanding in the warm-up event last month: captaining Chandigarh to victory, finishing as the second-highest run-scorer, and with the best economy rate.

Andrew Hall: Hall has been one of the consistent performers for Chandigarh in the previous two editions and his ability to bowl the yorker and stifle the runs is a valued commodity in Twenty20 cricket.

Raviraj Patil: Twenty-year-old Patil was Mumbai's standout batsman in the Twenty20 tournament in March, blitzing 213 runs at a strike-rate of 142.

Quotes

"Last time we had an issue - we were not able to click as a team. This time our team combination is different. So hopefully, there will be a better performance from our side."
Raviraj Patil