Loss after loss that’s what Mumbai Indians are seeing after every match. A rather careless attitude and in such a small game like T-20 it can cost a match for the team. Aware that another defeat will bring their semi-final hopes crashing down, a desperate Mumbai Indians would settle for nothing less than victory in a crucial League match against Royal Challengers Bangalore today.

With just three wins out of nine matches, the Sachin Tendulkar-led Mumbai Indians are second from bottom in the eight-team event and would be eyeing revenge against the Royal Challengers, who humiliated them by 9 wickets in their earlier encounter.

Royal Challengers Bangalore and Mumbai Indians come into this contest with contrasting fortunes. After Kevin Pietersen departed, Bangalore picked up momentum and won three from four (including a nine-wicket hammering of Mumbai). Mumbai appear to have lost the plot, losing four of their last five matches. It is difficult to put a finger on what has gone wrong for the Mumbai Indians.

They seem to be not learning from mistakes and looks like they are depending on a few players rather than playing as a team. They are now just above KKR there is little hope of revival unless the team plays collectively for a kill. While Mumbai Indians will be in search of an elusive win, the Royal Challengers will be eyeing a return to winning ways and move to the top half of the table.

In Mumbai's only game at Port Elizabeth in this tournament, Tendulkar top-scored against KKR. However, he failed against Bangalore when the sides met in Johannesburg and it was left for Jayasuriya to blaze away, scoring 52 from 43 balls. For Bangalore, Jacques Kallis top scored in that match and he is by far their most successful batsman with 230 runs in eight innings.

Certainly Mumbai Indians are a more appetizing prospect when Sachin Tendulkar and Jayasuriya open together. Lasith Malinga and Dwayne Bravo are two of the best pacers in the world and although they both are not in their best of form, can a side with two such strong disciplines continue to falter?

Port Elizabeth has been the most reliable wicket for batsmen in IPL Season 2. The average first-innings score there is 162. The forecast is for blazing sun all day, which should aid the batsmen. Mumbai Indians rested Sanath Jayasuriya in defeat against Delhi Daredevils. Luke Ronchi replaced him but made a two-ball duck so the veteran should get his spot back.

If Tendulkar and Jayasuriya will give their best at the top of the order then situation will completely different. Wasim Jaffer and Jacques Kallis are the current openers for Bangalore, a pair which would are more suited to Test scoring rates than T-20.

What has been a matter of concern for Mumbai is the batsmen's inability to put up decent totals on the board. Boasting the likes of Sanath Jayasuriya, Tendulkar, JP Duminy and Dwayne Bravo, Mumbai would be eyeing a big score today but for that to happen, they will have to do away with their middle over collapse.

Stumbling from one loss to another, Mumbai was one of the favourites to clinch the crown, but is languishing at the seventh spot in the points table. Today’s game assumes proportions of must-win for Mumbai.

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

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