So far Mumbai Indians have been living upto their reputation. With three wins out of four, this is a team emerging as the big-ticket unit, one which every other team is envy off. Except their opening combination which still hasn’t fired yet, Mumbai Indians have found a strong middle-order in Dinesh Karthik, Rohit Sharma and Kieron Pollard and that’s one element of the team which Rajasthan Royals would be worrying ahead of their match today. But, if the last match of Mumbai Indians against Pune was any indication then the ‘Pondulkar’ is just about finding their mojo. The duo has 60,000 international runs between them and it would be a matter of time for the cricket lovers to see the two greats of the game building a partnership.
Team coach John Wright believes that the senior pros in the team still are the potential match winners for the side. “Sachin played really well in the last match and has been (unlucky) run out twice. Ricky is leading the side in a fantastic fashion and we know that form is temporary and class is permanent. They both are a big part of us. We do not look at averages and they are match winners and on their day they can go on and win the game for us.”
For Rajasthan, Ajinkya Rahane and Rahul Dravid – two batsmen known better for their technique and temperament – along with Shane Watson, though yet to fire this season, holds the key. Facing the Rajasthan at home, the wickets and conditions here are different than in Mumbai and adapting to them will be a big challenge. According to Wright, “It looks a good wicket, perhaps a little movement in it early maybe. But having looked at the highlights of the previous match there were a lot of wickets that fell early in the match. They didn’t have a lot to do with the wicket; but it looks a good batting track. The boundaries are wide in this stadium which is a different challenge for us. Running between the wickets and fielding and adapting well here will be the key.” The wicket should assist Mitchell Johnson, who has become doubly dangerous with his in-dippers going. The Mumbai Indians bowling attack will be a lethal one if Johnson can get those deliveries to swing in late on a consistent basis and add Lasith Malinga if he can start firing those yorkers.
