Mumbai bolstered by Tendulkar's presence

Match facts

Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Start time 20.00 (local), 14.30 (GMT)

	Will Mumbai's winning streak continue now that Sachin Tendulkar joins the squad? (file photo) © Getty Images

The Big Picture

The last time the two sides met the Mumbai Indians lost by a margin of six runs in one of the more gripping encounters of the IPL. Back then the Chennai Super Kings were sitting pretty at the top of the table while Mumbai, minus Sachin Tendulkar, were trying to work out a winning combination.

Things have changed for both sides since then: after four losses, a resurgent Mumbai clinched three straight victories and now Tendulkar is back in the fold. Chennai have slipped to third place on the points table behind the Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab.

One of the vital aspects of Mumbai's wins, acknowledged by Tendulkar as well, has been the success of their new-ball pair of Shaun Pollock and Ashish Nehra, who have consistently troubled the opposition top order with their accuracy, variation and tireless efforts to keep the batsmen in check. They reduced Rajasthan to 21 for 2 in three overs and had Delhi reeling at 12 for 2 in the second over. Pollock also dismissed the Kolkata Knight Riders' openers in the first over.

The inconsistency of his openers therefore will worry Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the Chennai captain. But in the IPL, as he did in the CB Series, Dhoni has led by example, allowing each man to fend for himself. The result was Chennai, who had slipped off the radar mid-way with three successive losses, have now regained the momentum with close wins in the last two games.

Despite having two extra games in hand, Mumbai need at least five victories from their remaining seven games to earn a semi-final berth while Chennai need two wins from five games to qualify. Both sides have the momentum so it will be a case of who blinks first.

Tournament position

Mumbai Indians: P7, W3, L4, NRR -0.455 Chennai Super Kings: P9, W6, L3, NRR +0.104

IPL form (last five matches, most recent first)

Mumbai Indians: WWWLL
Chennai Super Kings: WWLLL

Watch out for ...

The raucous applause when Tendulkar will walk in for the umpteenth time into the Wankhede.

The flurry of big hits from Sanath Jayasuriya, Tendulkar and Robin Uthappa if the Mumbai top order gets going against the below-par Chennai bowling.

Murali has finally come into his own after a slow start and it will be interesting to see how Mumbai's strong batting line-up counters his guile.

It will also be interesting to see how Tendulkar utilises his bowlers to tackle the hard-hitting Dhoni who has proved to be Chennai's pivotal batsman.

Expect a ball or two to fly out of the ground if Albie Morkel clicks.

Team news

	Who will come off on top? © AFP

Despite having a six-day break between games Mumbai began practising on Sunday, focusing on specific strategies like hitting the ball straighter. By maintaining an unchanged line-up through the last few games they have allowed players to grow in confidence. The only change will be Tendulkar ahead of the Saurabh Tiwary.

Mumbai Indians (probable): 1 Sachin Tendulkar (capt), 2 Sanath Jayasuriya, 3 Robin Uthappa, 4 Dominic Thornley, 5 Dwayne Bravo, 6 Shaun Pollock, 7 Abhishek Nayar, 8 Yogesh Takawale, 9 Dhawal Kulkarni, 10 Rohan Raje, 11 Ashish Nehra.

Chennai have stuck to the same XI in their last two matches and are likely to continue with the same.

Chennai Super Kings (probable); 1 Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt), 2 Stephen Fleming, 3 S Vidyut, 4 Suresh Raina 5 S Badrinath, 6 Albie Morkel, 7 Chamara Kapugedera, 8 Muttiah Muralitharan, 9 Manpreet Gony, 10 P Amarnath, 11 L Balaji.

Stats and trivia

Chennai have made good use of the Powerplay overs in their matches, maintaining a run-rate of 7.47, while Mumbai have managed only 6.83 per over, the lowest among all the teams in the tournament.

Chennai are also the best team when it comes to the last five overs - they score at 11.30 per over.

When Mahendra Singh Dhoni and S Badrinath added 91 for the fourth wicket against Kings XI Punjab, it was Chennai's best partnership after Matthew Hayden and Michael Hussey departed.

Quotes

"Dhoni is not the only worry. Badrinath has also scored consistently. Even Morkel hits it big lower down the order."
Sachin Tendulkar lines out the dangers Mumbai need to ward off against Chennai tomorrow.

"Captaincy in Twenty20 cricket is challenging. Tendulkar is a very experienced player so even if he hasn't played a lot of Twenty20 cricket adapting shouldn't be a problem for him."
Kepler Wessels, the Chennai Super Kings coach, on Tendulkar standing in as captain for the first time in Twenty20 cricket.

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