Vulnerable Mumbai Indians faces off against Chennai Super Kings

Chennai Super Kings takes on the might of Mumbai Indians in an away match of DLF IPL-IV at a time when the latter appears vulnerable in many areas. The sharpness seen in the first week has given away to frayed edges in home conditions.

 

Sluggish bowling and catching neutralised a Sachin Tendulkar century in T20 against the Kochi Tuskers Kerala. Then the bowlers and fielders raised their energy levels against Pune Warriors only for the Mumbai Indians' middle-order to make a hash of chasing down 119.

Commitment is visible in MI's efforts, the joy in each other's success is apparent on the field, yet something is holding the players back, as if under instructions to conserve energy for the long haul.

Fan support at the Wankhede Stadium, which captain Tendulkar refers to as an addiction, is at hand for many of the biggest names in international cricket to perform in tune with their status as match-winners.

The face-off against the Super Kings happens at a time when Harbhajan Singh is supposed to be recovering from injury, Andrew Symonds still trying to slip into the all-rounder's role, Kieron Pollard's power-packed batting is awaited and Rohit Sharma's knack of accumulating runs under pressure as a quality anchor or finisher is yet to happen.

Tendulkar has assumed the mantle of chief run-maker with Ambati Rayudu walking in the master's footsteps and weighing in with breathtaking strokeplay.

Munaf Patel is turning into a threat due to wicket-to-wicket line of attack, countering aggressive batsmen with subtle pace changes. He is expected to play an influential role in Mumbai Indians' strike force, now that Lasith Malinga spearing in swinging yorkers no longer terrorises batsmen ever since Brendon McCullum mauled the Lankan slinger at the Wankhede.

CSK has a long list of bold batsmen in Murali Vijay, S. Badrinath, Mike Hussey, Suresh Raina and M.S. Dhoni capable of tackling any bowler on their day.

Southee factor

CSK also possess a Malinga-type death overs specialist in Tim Southee. New Zealand's pace sensation in the WC 2011, Southee has become a surprise weapon in skipper's Dhoni's armoury of bowlers.

Slow bowlers R. Ashwin, Shadab Jakati, Suraj Randiv and Suresh Raina are also capable of breaking partnerships by forcing settled batsmen into risky shots. Each one of them played a part in throttling Kolkata Knight Riders's run chase in the openeing tie, resulting in a confidence-boosting win by two runs.

Tendulkar has reason to be wary, chiefly due to his team's soft spots which were exploited by Kochi Tuskers earlier.