Published: Sep 14, 2014, 05:26 AM (IST)
Edited: Sep 14, 2014, 11:52 AM (IST)
It was a fragmented batting performance from Mumbai Indians (MI) against Lahore Lions in their opening qualifier tie of the Champions League T20 2014 (CLT20). Abhijit Banare analyses MI’s performance and things to look forward to in today’s match against Southern Express.
If there was one particular reason why the Mumbai Indians (MI) struggled in the Indian premier League 2014 (IPL), it had to be their top-order batting. Even before some batsman in form could set the momentum, the rest of the team would have caved in leaving no room for fightback. In 20 overs, there is little margin for error at the top, and when it is a collective failure then the situation is beyond repair. The shades of Mumbai’s horrible run in UAE were visible against Lahore on Saturday. They had pushed themselves out of the game even before they could think of a resurrection.
The unfortunate part is that nothing can be done about it. It was a much talked-about part of Mumbai’s squad. With no Rohit Sharma, there are just eight batsmen around. Sushant Marathe and Corey Anderson are the only ones who can bat didn’t feature in the match last night. So what is the way out to qualify?
Burden on key players: With a must-win situation ahead, Mumbai’s key players, Michael Hussey, Ambati Rayudu and Kieron Pollard will have to shoulder the burden. None of them could manage anything worthwhile against Lions and the results are there to see. Simmons is more of a free-flowing player and you can’t expect him to curb his natural instincts. But the rest of these players need to anchor the innings in their own unique way which they have shown in the past.
Should Corey Anderson be included? It’s a tough call make changes based on one match. But this kind of schedule was something the team management was well aware of. With Pollard, Lasith Malinga and Lendl Simmons being certainties, they are left with no choice but shuffle between Hussey and Anderson. To be fair, Hussey’s selection for the first match shouldn’t come as a surprise. A good start gives the team much needed momentum early on. Maybe the focus was on getting that start. As far as the next match is concerned, it again comes down to what these two players can add to the team. Anderson gives an additional bowling option to the captain. However, as seen in last night’s match, Pollard had sufficient bowling options to save his best bowlers till the end. Anderson’s economy rate isn’t impressive either. So it boils down to who’s a better T20 batsman which is a tricky choice to make. This decision would nothing but a gamble taken from the think tank and would be unfair to criticise the exclusion of either players.
Strategy against Southern Express: There’s a high possibility that this team will look like a formidable side when it takes on the bowling of Southern Express. The Lankan team, as we saw on Saturday, relies on its spin bowlers. And this MI team has enough players who can send the ball out of the park. Even in the pace department, the Express don’t have bowlers of the caliber of the Pakistan attack who kept pulling MI back with their nagging line and length.
So expect this to be one of those matches where MI will show a solid fightback. But the question remains, can they can repeat their collective performances consistently?
(Abhijit Banare is a reporter at CricketCountry. He is an avid quizzer and loves to analyse and dig out interesting facts which allows him to learn something new every day. Apart from cricket he also likes to keep a sharp eye on Indian politics, and can be followed on Twitter and blog)
