The day began with a lot of expectation and the doze of
Armour to withstand a heartbreak if Sachin fell early once again. Such is the
Sachin effect that I have heard someone say there was this individual who had a
break-up with his 5 years old girlfriend and he was devastated. The only thing
that got him back on track was the youtube video of Sachin’s knock against
Australia at Sharjah. This innings was much needed, considering the slump he
was trying to get out off. I guess the duration of bad form was extended for a
couple more senior players like Sehwag, Gambhir and Yuvraj.
It was disappointing that in the first 10 overs, Sachin got
to bat only for 18 deliveries when he had scored about 38 runs off 18
deliveries. The onslaught of McLaren on the 2nd over and the confident thud
when the ball hit Sachin’s bat gave a picture of what was to come, especially
the 3rd delivery which was pulled for a 4 to the long on fence. Can’t wait to
see him get to the orange cap when the team is playing the finals
I have a question here. What are the roles of certain
individuals in the team? Precisely Dwayne Smith and Harbhajan Singh? Is Smith
supposed to be the aggressor and Sachin be the accumulator? Or is Mumbai
playing a steady opening to see off the first 6 overs and then accelerate? It isn’t a pleasant sight to see a T20 match
played like a One Dayer. Every format is different. ODI is my favorite but its
a different ball game altogether. The middle order is the strength of the team
backed by superb bowlers in Johnson and Malinga. Questions still arise on the
opening pairs. We all know Tendulkar is not replaceable and no one wants to see
Sachin on the bench. Then who should the other person be to play as the
specialist opener at the power play stage? Why not give Glenn Maxwell the shot?
I think Ravi Shastri did mention his stats during the match. Moreover he will
need some match practice before the knockouts begin. Or even if they want to
save him at this phase why not get Karthick get in to open with Sachin? Anyhow,
the trend of MI has been that a wicket will fall in the first couple of overs,
so Karthick is as good as an opener and he did a fine job when the tournament
started. Either way, Tendulkar should be paired with a power player like season
1 when Tendulkar and Jayasuriya dominated the powerplays. And Bhajji? The trend
of spin bowling is that the spinner spins most of his deliveries and angles a
few. With Bhajji, he spins only about 10 balls out of the quota of 24 balls in
the match and angles the rest 14. A spinner is one who spins the balls, who he
used to be about 5 years back. But all is good till the time the team is
winning.
Mumbai bowled brilliantly and in fact both the sides fielded
well. The catch by Morgan was one of the brightest stars in this match. What
smart thinking !!! Mitchell Johnson’s bowling figures in this match : 4 overs,
13 runs, 2 wickets, 3.25 economy, 14 dots. So the batsmen scored 13 runs off
only 10 deliveries. Outstanding.
Wankhede has become a fortress of the Mumbai Indians. Love
the sound of the roaring crowd. I am still waiting to see some fireworks from
players of the caliber of Pollard, Yusuf Pathan, Warner, Sehwag. Simply love
the tournament from this stage !!!
