Apart from stragglers KKR, Mumbai is the only team on the table with less than 8 points. The Deccan Chargers also, at one point comfortably ruled the roost, have now come down to the bottom half of the board, at number 5. Both teams will have everything to play for today when they go head to head at the centurion today.

The bad cricket news for Mumbai is that a team that looks splendid on paper is not able to perform together as a unit as often as it needs to. The team effort required consistently in order to win matches is often absent. On occasion Sachin Tendulkar and Sanath Jayasuriya have performed together awesomely well, on others they haven’t, so that consistency is a problem. Also youngsters such as Ajinkya Rahane, Abhishek Nayar and Shikhar Dhawan have not come through for the team in a way that they should.

With in-form bowlers like Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan and Lasith Malinga who are all current international cricket stars, there should be no dearth of match winning bowlers for the team, however, that is not happening for the team as often as it needs to. It is therefore that the Mumbai Indians find themselves in the unenviable position of perhaps not being able to make it to the semi finals. It is a possibility that they have to consider very seriously and will have to lift their game considerably if they are to still have a shot at the semis.

The Deccan Chargers as well, who till recently were right at the top of the table have slipped several points and have actually lost their last three games on a trot, to the Delhi Daredevils who started their slide, to the Rajasthan Royals and the Chennai Super Kings.

Suddenly their feisty opener Adam Gilchrist does not seem as invincible as he had been looking since the beginning of the tournament. Even Herschelle Gibbs who was played some superb knocks before now is looking somewhat less sure. Also the Deccan Chargers will now be doing without the services of West Indian Dwayne Smith who was the team’s highest scorer in the match that they lost against the Delhi Daredevils. He has now left for national duty as England take on West Indies starting today in England.

Comments

Add New RSS

3.25 Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved."

Newer news items:

Older news items: