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!!
Posts Tagged ‘Mumbai’
Its Sachin v/s Dhoni in IPL 3 final!
April 23rd, 2010Mumbai’s Bhais ready for Royal Challenge
April 20th, 2010So, finally the league matches in the Indian Premier League are over and we now head down to the business end of the tournament.
Kolkata Knight Riders ended their campaign with a consolation nine-wicket victory over Mumbai Indians, who fielded a nearly second-string side.
It was an obvious calls for the league leaders wanted to prevent their top stars from picking up an injury ahead of their semi-final match against Royal Challengers Bangalore.
On the other hand, Kolkata must be ruing having lost a place in the semis only because of the run rate after four teams were locked at 14 points each.
Mumbai will no doubt start as the favourites against Bangalore, who managed to make it to the final four in the last round.
Mumbai also boast of the tournament’s top run scorer in Sachin Tendulkar, while Bangalore’s Jacques Kallis is second, the South African has not been able to lift the tempo in the recent few matches.
Mumbai’s bowling is also far superior and more than varied than Bangalore. Mumbai boast of three genuine match winning bowlers in Zaheer Khan, Harbhajan Singh and Lasith Malinga. On the other hand, Bangalore’s reliant would be on Anil Kumble and pace ace Dale Steyn.
Also playing into Mumbai’s hands is that the matches would be played in front of their home fans at the DY Patil stadium, giving them that extra edge.
So far, Mumbai has looked the superior of all teams in the league and are certainly the top favourites for the title. But they must be careful, for Bangalore has already beaten them at home this season.
Except for a miracle, I can’t see how the Bangalore boys can get the better of the Bhais from Mumbai!
Kings having a party time!!!
April 10th, 2010
As Preity Zinta rightly said at the end, “We are not here to spoil anyone’s party, we are here to have our own party!”
And Kings XI Punjab certainly had a party time as they outclassed Mumbai Indians by six wickets to finish off their home campaign with a morale boosting victory.
It was encouraging to see Preity back her team to the hilt despite a series of losses and it seems some of her energy has rubbed off on the team.
It was a fearless and a confident Punjab that took on Mumbai in their final match at their home ground in Mohali.
Piyush Chawla did the star turn with the ball for Punjab as he claimed three for 23, including the big wicket of Sachin Tendulkar, who was bowled for 29. Irfan Pathan showed glimpses that he might regaining his form with the ball during his vital spell of three for 29 in four overs.
Mumbai Indians never got going throughout their innings and finished on 154 for nine in their 20 overs.
With the ball, Mumbai were hoping for a few early wickets, but it was Punjab who steamed away with a rollicking start.
Mahela Jayawardene started off with a barrage of boundaries against the pacers, hitting 31 from 18 balls, to give his team a flying start. Adrian Barath also chipped with a vital knock of 33 from 27 balls to put Punjab in charge after the good start.
Sangakkara ensured that the innings never lost momentum in the middle overs as he hit boundaries at regular intervals. The Punjab captain made it a point to target Mumbai’s best bowlers as he went after Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh.
Despite Yuvraj Singh looking off colour during his 15 from 21 balls before being dismissed by Kieron Pollard, Sangakkara never let Mumbai make a comeback.
He made 56 from 42 balls, with the help of six boundaries and a six, but towards the end he lost his wicket. He chipped compatriot Lasith Malinga straight to Shikhar Dhawan and was naturally quite annoyed at himself to be dismissed close to the end.
Irfan Pathan saw his team home as he hit 15 runs, including the match winning boundary.
Mumbai’s loss has once again thrown the IPL wide open with as many seven teams, except for Punjab, in contention for the semi-finals!!
Mumbai’s Shehanshah proves deadly
March 31st, 2010 
Lasith Malinga is turning out to be the Shehanshah performer for the Mumbai Indians.
As was witnessed on Tuesday, the Kings XI Punjab had no clue what was coming out of the lethal arm from the Sri Lankan speedster.
His slinging action combined with pace and deadly accuracy make him one of the most difficult fast bowlers to face. Malinga’s yorkers found the range to perfection at the CCI helping Mumbai to a four-wicket victory for their sixth win in seven matches.
Zaheer Khan was also not far behind claiming three wickets, as Mumbai once again underlined their status as the best team in IPL 3.
Shaun Marsh finally injected some life in Punjab’s batting, stroking 57 from 57 balls, to lift them to 163. Yuvraj Singh failed once again and he has not scored a half-century in seven matches in the tournament, while replacement captain Mahela Jayawardene’s poor run also continued.
For a change, Tendulkar departed early but Shikhar Dhawan gave his team a flying start as he smashed 50 from 40 balls. Mumbai kept losing wickets at regular intervals but all through the run chase they never panicked especially in the end when Saurabh Tiwary scored a vital 31.
But the day belonged Malinga as he took four for 22 including three wickets in the space of four deliveries. When it looked like Marsh was lifting Punjab towards the 200-run mark, Malinga castled his stumps with a fast unplayable yorker that beat the batsman all ends up.
Punjab’s disappointing campaign continues having won just one out of seven games and they now need to win all their remaining seven matches to make it to the last four.
But for the moment, there is no stopping the Mumbai Indians….Alaaa Reeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!
Old is Gold in IPL 3!
March 26th, 2010
SACH A FANTASTIC FORM-
Well now it can be safely said or rather has been proved that Twenty20 cricket is no longer solely a youngster’s game.
Sachin Tendulkar, Muttiah Muralitharan and Jacques Kallis are the prime examples that a special player, irrespective of his age, can work his magic in any format of the game.
In the first two seasons of the IPL the youngsters did have a major bearing but slowly and steadily the great players are coming in to their own having understood the nuances of the new format.
I, for one, am quite sure that in IPL 3 any of the three players may walk away with the player of the tournament award, barring an injury.
On Thursday, though, it was Tendulkar’s day once again as his fluent innings of 72 guided Mumbai to a crushing five-wicket victory over Chennai Super Kings.
Suresh Raina smashed 83 from 52 balls to fire Chennai to 180 for two but Mumbai chased down the target without any real problems. Once Shikhar Dhawan had given them a flying start, hitting 56 from 34 balls, there was no looking back for Mumbai.
Mumbai surely must now be one of the favourites for the title, having won four of their five matches.
Royal Challengers are equal with Mumbai on eight points, but have played a game more. Their last loss to Delhi must hurt a great deal as they suffered their first defeat at home.
What is more striking is that Mumbai cruised to 184 for five with an over to spare, while Bangalore didn’t even come to close chasing Delhi’s 183 for four.
For once, Kallis failed with the bat, scoring 27, and the rest of the batsmen also failed to deliver.
Meanwhile, Chennai have now lost three matches in a row and if things don’t turn around, they could soon be out of the reckoning for a place in the last four.
Saluting Sachin!
March 23rd, 2010
A few months back a slogan in one of the stadiums in India read: “Sachin Tendulkar is like wine. He is getting better with age!”
And you needed no better proof after his vintage batting display against Kolkata Knight Riders. The master blaster was in total control as he played a delightful innings of 71 not out from a mere 48 deliveries and he entertained his Mumbai fans by hitting 10 cracking boundaries.
Not even the world’s fastest bowler, in Shane Bond, managed to make an impression as Tendulkar ensured Mumbai an emphatic seven-wicket victory with nine deliveries to spare.
Tendulkar has ruled supreme this year and whether it is Test cricket, ODIs or T20s, the bowlers still have no clue how to stop this run machine. Just when everyone thought he was getting too old for One-Dayers, he played one of the most astonishing innings ever as he completed the first ever double century in ODIs, a feat unimaginable.
And he has been doing this for more than 20 years now yet with all the technology and videos at their disposal, the bowlers still don’t know have a clue to how to stop the great man.
He rightly deserves to sit at the top of every batting record, whether it is most runs in Tests or ODIs or whether it is the most number of centuries.
And he has been doing for 20 years now. He is the ultimate — the Shehanshaah, the Gladiator — call him anything you like. We have not seen a Super Human Being like him.
And we are proud he hails from Mumbai!!
Here is saluting the one and only, Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar!!
AALA RE
March 17th, 2010
Mumbai Indians are back!! Theymight have not done well in the previous two tournaments but this year they are
the top favourites after the crushing victory over Delhi Daredevils.
With Sachin Tendulkar in the form of his life, there is no stopping the Mumbai
Indians!
Aaaalaaa re Aaaalaaa Re! The loudspeakers played at full blast at the Ferozshah
Kotla and perhaps they were signalling Sachin Tendulkar’s entry into the middle
and Mumbai’s cricketing god was in his elements right from the word go.
The maestro his his first ball to the boundary and after
that it was a master class in stroke making as he pierced every possible gap in
the outfield for a breathtaking innings of 62 from 32 deliveries, with 11
boundaries hit to each and every part of the Kotla ground. it
reminded me of the old radio commentary line- ‘ palak zhapkte hi gendh seema
rekha ke paar ho gayi, aur ye CHAR runs.‘
And when he went back after Mumbai giving a blazing start, Saurabh Tiwary, who
looks like a replica of MS Dhoni in his teenage days, took over the mantle.
He smashed 61 from 37 deliveries, hitting three big sixes, to help Mumbai post
218 for seven in their 20 overs, a total which should win you 99 percent of the
T20 games you play.
Delhi Daredevils were dealt a big blow even before they started when captain
Gautam Gambhir didnt come out to bat after picking up an injury while fielding.
Chasing such a huge total, Tillakaratne Dilshan was going to be a key player
for Delhi, but he was done in by his own countryman. Lasith Malinga sent down a
slower delivery and Dilshan was through his shot even before the ball reached
him and he was bowled for 17.
Delhi’s chances of overhauling the target finished when Virender Sehwag hit one
straight to the fielder on the long-off boundary for 26.
From then on, it was a procession of Delhi batsmen from the middle to the
pavilion. Dwayne Bravo made an immediate impact as he claimed two wickets,
while Sanath Jayasuriya showed his bowling is still deadly as he also took two,
just like Harbhajan Singh.
Just hoping Mumbai continues playing in this dashing fashion throughout the
tournament. It does not take much for the turn to tide so let’s hope Mumbai
doesn’t get complacent and keeps the winning run going.
Till then Duniya Hila Denge!!!!!!!!!!!!
