Mumbai Indians VS Kolkata Knight Riders (7th May, 2013), Wankhede

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 !!!