By Suneer Chowdhary
Mumbai need to win this to cement their place in the playoffs, Rajastan need to win this to avoid a lowly finish. One team would be dreaming big, a place in the top two positions, the other to give their captain an apt parting gift.
Published: May 19, 2011, 06:53 PM (IST)
Edited: May 19, 2011, 06:53 PM (IST)
Mumbai Indians will look to beat Rajasthan Royals and cement their place in the play-offs © AFP
By Suneer Chowdhary
Mumbai: May 19, 2011
One team needs to win this to get back their momentum, the other to get their respect. One team needs to win this one to cement their place in the playoffs, the other to avoid a lowly finish. One team would be dreaming big, a place in the top two positions, the other to give their captain an apt parting gift.
Such would be the tale when Mumbai Indians take on Rajasthan Royals in the 66th game of the IPL.
The off field controversies have hit Rajasthan hard, and it had all started with their previous game against Mumbai. Ironically, the Mumbai Indians, who had earlier complained against the Jaipur pitch had to bear the brunt of a similar track at home in their previous match against Deccan Chargers.
The Mumbai Indians’ batting, in the previous couple of games, have shown signs of stalling. Sachin Tendulkar had an Orange Cap earlier, but his sudden loss of run seems to have affected the team. The good news though, is that Kieron Pollard was showing signs of getting his batting rust off.
Rajasthan, on the other hand, had made six changes to their team last game. One senses that Shane Watson and Ross Taylor would need to come back to the 11. Shaun Tait and Jacob Oram will need to sit out.
Tendulkar would hope for a pitch that affords bounce and carry, unlike the previous one. The Royals, on the other hand will prefer a slower pitch for their spinners.
Teams
MI (Probable) : Sachin Tendulkar (c), Adrien Blizzard, Ambati Rayadu (wk), Rohit Sharma, Andrew Symonds, Kieron Pollard, T Suman, Lasith Malinga, Harbhajan Singh, Munaf Patel, Abu Nechim
RR (Probable): Rahul Dravid, Shane Watson, Ashok Menaria,Ajinkya Rahane, Ross Taylor, Abhishek Raut, Pinal Shah (wk), Ankeet Chavan, Shane Warne (c), Johan Botha, Siddharth Trivedi
Time: 20.00 local (14.30 GMT)
(Suneer is a Mumbai-based cricket writer and can be contacted at suneerchowdhary@gmail.com and Tweets here: @suneerchowdhary)
