It’s that time of the tournament when most matches assume criticality in terms of the final placements – which teams will make the knockouts; where will the other five finish? When it comes to the Pepsi Indian Premier League 2013 clash between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Mumbai Indians at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Uppal, Hyderabad today though, there’s an added edge because the two teams are currently jostling for the No. 4 position on the table, with Mumbai only marginally ahead.
From Hyderabad’s point of view, they have done fairly well so far – winning five and losing four – despite not having a star-studded team. If they have lost their last two matches, it’s partly because they have had to ring in changes. Shikhar Dhawan regaining full fitness and Darren Sammy joining the team would ordinarily be good news, but these have been accompanied by Thisara Perera and Cameron White, who both played key roles in the first few matches for Hyderabad, losing their touch somewhat.
Sammy makes up for Perera but with White’s downslide, Kumar Sangakkara has returned to the team – not ideal for a team that had to drop Sangakkara, the designated captain, earlier in the tournament because of lack of form.
But the good thing for Hyderabad is that, like Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers Bangalore, they have been very strong at home, with three wins in three matches so far. With five home matches, including this one, in their seven remaining ties, they will be happy about where they stand. Also, at home, their frontline bowlers – Dale Steyn, Ishant Sharma and Amit Mishra – will be expected to make up, even if partially, for the lapses on the part of the batsmen.
Mumbai have been brilliant when at their best and pedestrian when off the boil. Their six wins have come in two chunks of three each, which suggests that they do generate some sort of winning momentum at times. The first of those runs had Dinesh Karthik playing the lead while the next three have had starring performances from Dwayne Smith at the top of the batting order. But the one constant in Mumbai’s good performances has been Rohit Sharma.
Rohit, now the captain of the team after Ricky Ponting stood himself down, is well atop Mumbai’s run-scorers’ charts with 353 runs – including four 50s – at an average of 58.83 and a strike rate of 154.82. That’s about as good as it gets in Twenty20 cricket and considering his overall IPL record – he scored 372 runs in 2011, his leanest season – there’s no reason to believe that there aren’t a few more big knocks left in him.
The worry for Mumbai remains Sachin Tendulkar. It wasn’t impossible for Ponting to drop himself but leaving out Tendulkar might be very tricky, almost unthinkable, and therefore improbable. However, with the runs coming slowly and only occasionally, a couple of matches in the dugout might be ideal for Tendulkar. But then, with Rohit, Smith, Karthik and Kieron Pollard carrying Mumbai’s batting, Tendulkar could, possibly, get a little more time to rediscover his touch and, toward the business end of the tournament, come into his own
Delhi hopes to complete Raipur double
Delhi Daredevils have had a busy 24 hours. Even as Pune Warriors India winged their way back home after the loss on Sunday, Delhi have had a recovery session in the swimming pool of their hotel, a spot in the gym, dinner with Raman Singh, the chief minister of Chattisgarh, and a gruelling practice under lights at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh Stadium in Raipur.
If the first game at India’s newest venue was all about discovery, the second one, against Kolkata Knight Riders today is about using the little knowledge there is about the conditions to best effect. A second home for Delhi this season, Raipur was new to all, but having played a game there and spent some time on the ground, Delhi have a definite advantage.
While Kolkata have been masters at using the Eden Gardens as a fortress that visiting teams have struggled to breach, they are in for a taste of their own medicine. For starters, the pitch at Raipur is reasonably quick, with decent bounce and carry, while Kolkata prefer their Eden tracks slow and low. Kolkata’s attack often has Jacques Kallis as the one true medium pacer, with even Lakshmipathi Balaji and Rajat Bhatia taking the pace off the ball more often than not. The spin of Sachithra Senanayake and Sunil Narine has been used in attacking mode, and although they might enjoy the extra bounce on offer in Raipur, they will certainly need to adapt quickly.
Delhi’s tactics have been distinctly different, relying on the pace of Umesh Yadav, the experience of Ashish Nehra and the enthusiasm of Irfan Pathan, all returning from injury, to keep opposition batsmen from running away with the game. Nehra has been impressive in the death, and Yadav, who is quite close to regaining full fitness, showed that he enjoyed the Raipur surface, bending his back each time he wanted extra pace.
