Mumbai Indians vs Bangalore Royal Challengers
DAy night
Wanderers, Johanseburg
The first game here yesterday has beaten the predictions. Everyone predicted that the at least on this ground, the bat wins over the ball and Gauti at the toss also did a sensible thing by chasing. He was quite happy at the halfway stage but they just threw away the game when it really matterred.
Toss: If Mumbai wins the toss I think they should bat first as they lost both their games chasing. Bangalore would also want to bat first as they would be aware of that fact and they themseleve lost 2 games chasing.
Form:
Mumbai Indians: WLWLDW
They have 5 completed matches so far and they have been winning every alternate game. So they should be keen to set that straight.
Bangalore Royal Challengers:WWLLLLW
3 of their 4 losses have been against the top 4 teams in the points table and they avenged the fourth loss against Kings Xi by beating them in the reverse game. They restricted the oppsosition to under 140 in the games that they have won and that could be the crucial factor in today's game as well. The main thing that I see lacking in the side is self-belief and the inability in the senir players to inspire the younger brigade. Kallis, Dravid, Kumble and Boucher are all the kind of players who are more reserved when compared to the like of Warnie, Dada, Gilly, Sachin, MSD.
Bowling:
Mumbai Indians:
Their bowlers, on their worst day, conceeded around 168 runs 47 off which were accounted by the fourth bowler. And that is against a powerful Deccan top order. Malinga, on his bad day, could go no more than 25. Zaheer, Bravo and Bhajji on their bad days can go no more than 32 apiece and even if the part-timers go for 10 an over the total they would concede would be around 160. And this is assuming everything goes wrong in their bowling department. So what they really have to do here is bat first and put that 160 on the board. On their average day, Malinga would give about 18, Bhajji 22, Zaheer 26 and Bravo 28. Assuming the fifth bowler would go for about 32-26, I think the max the Royal Challenegers could get is 130.
Bangalore Royal Challnegers:
Bangalore have a legspinner in Jumbo and two left arm orthodox spinners in Van Der Merwe and Appanna. I really think any of these 3 should open the bowling with PK, who can swing the ball both ways.
Batting:
Mumbai Indians:
The main concern for the Mumbai Indians is their batting. I am laughing as I write this but it is true. They have been heavily relying on Sachin and Duminy and its the individual brilliance thats winning them matches rather than partnerships. Only 2 50+ run partnerships in the first 5 games clearly explains that. On the contrary, Deccan, Delhi and Chennai who have such a gret batting lineup have at least 6 50+ partnerships. Mumbai has Jayasuriya, Duminy and Nayar, all of who are left-hand batsmen and they should be targeting the three spinners. They would be keen to have Dhawan back if he is fit as he is also a left-hander. Their trump today would be Sanath, who would be taking on these 3 if he gets off to a start. Duminy, at a later stage, can join the party too and Abhishek Nayar could play a small little cameo. If Tiwary plays today, I would love to see him play the pinch-hitter's role. His nickname is Bheem and he can hit the ball well. If he is not going to bowl, I feel Rahane should play instead of him. He has been in form in domestic cricket and surely deserves a chance at number 3 or 4.
Bangalore Royal Challengers:
Bangalore have all sorts of problems with their lineup although they have won their last game. It would be really interesting to see who would open today against the dangerous duo of Malinga and Zaheer, although Sachin might not give him a consistent spell. The pitches have beenmore spin-friendly and I wonder if Cameroon White could be considered. He has 15 first-class centuries, is a very experienced player, has a T20 strike rate of 150+ and has a best score of an unbeaten 141. To top all that, he is a leg-spinner. I am not sure if Dravid is back yet.Also, they have promoted Praveen Kumar in just one game. I would love to see him up the order some time. Van Der Merwe should surely be promoted up the order. He is the man in form, has some luck going his way and is a pwerful hitter. Kallis is good at 3 and the last thing they want to do is have him face Malinga and Zaheer. The death batting for the Royal Challengers is excellent and even if they chase, they might pull it off any target less than 152.
Probabale XI:
Mumbai: Sachin, Sanath, Duminy, Dhwawan(if fit)/Rahane, Nayar, Bravo(if fit)/Napier, Harbhajan, Zaheer, Tiwary, Pinal, Malinga.
No rocket science in pickin the team there.
Bangaore: Uthappa, Goswami, Kallis, Dravid/Bishnoi, Kohli, Boucher, White, Van Der Merwe, Praveen Kumar, Kumble, Appanna.
But I am sure that the either Ryder might be given another chance lower down the order or Taylor might make his way back.
The reason I have Uthappa at the top is he is anyway out of form and he could be the one who sees off Malinga and Zaheer and should be given the license to do some pinch-hitting if he survives. Also, he is an excellent fielder and a very good runner between the wickets. All he needs is some confidence and form. He could be the future captain for Royal Challengers and it is very important that he is groomed well.
Predictions:
If Mumbai battig first: 155 Bangalore 135
If Bangalore battig first: 140 Mumbai would chase down the target.
I predict Sanath, Sachin and Duminy together would get less than 50. We might have a new batting hero for the Mumbai Indians be it Dhawan or Harbhajan or Napier or Bravo or even Rahane. 2 men today would be the key difference between both the teams. And thats the Sri Lankans Sanath and Lasith.
PK should account for Sanath's wicket and Sachin, who has the habit of giftig his wicket to lesser known bowlers can as well be out to Appanna or Van Der Merwe.
One on one: Jumbo vs Sachin/Sanath would be an intersting duel
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