The clash of two titans looms ahead, in the final of the IPL, on Sunday.

Sachin Tendulkar is the best cricketer the world has seen, while Indian cricket has scaled to new height under Mahendra Singh Dhoni's astute leadership.

It is hard to differentiate between the two teams as both registered similar victories in their semi-finals.

Tendulkar's Mumbai Indians outplayed Royal Challengers Bangalore by 35 runs in the first semi-final on Wednesday, while Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings registered a comprehensive 38-run victory over Deccan Chargers in the second semis, on Thursday.

But Tendulkar's availability is a big question after he injured his right hand, while attempting to take a catch against Bangalore. He split his webbing and had to get five stitches and his availability is a big question mark as of now.

He has scored over 500 runs in the tournament and his absence would reduce Mumbai's chances by half. But then it would not be fair to expect him to play with such an injury, which would not even allow him to hold the bat with his right hand, let alone play shots.

Big-hitter Kieron Pollard also seemed to be struggling with hamstring during that semis and it remains to be seen whether he make it to the playing eleven for the title clash.

With the pitches getting slower with every game, Chennai must be happy that their spinners are peaking at the right moment. R Ashwin has proved to be deadly, bowling with the new ball, while Muttiah Muralitharan showed glimpses of his magical form in the semi-final match.

Overall, it may turn out to be a battle between Mumbai's aggressive batting line-up and Chennai's gritty bowling attack.

But Mumbai have come up trumps against every challenge thrown at them in this tournament and there is no reason why they cannot get over this one final obstacle.

Let's us all pray that Mumbai's biggest Khiladi Tendulkar can recover in time and take the field on Sunday for cricket has never seen a bigger match winner than him.

Go Sachin Go!!

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