 It is finals time! And the Mumbai Indians will play the Chennai Super Kings to decide who will lift the trophy for the first time; both sides have
yet to win the IPL so far. Chennai have been to the finals once, and were pipped
at the post by Rajasthan, whereas, for Mumbai, this is the first time they have
even entered the knock-out round.
Click for Live Score Card of Mumbai Indians Vs Chennai Super KingsThe two sides will play for the coveted trophy on Sunday, 25th of April, at
the Dr DY Patil Stadium in Mumbai.
The interesting thing to note will be the pitch. There cannot be too much doubt
that with the four successive days of cricket, the pitch would have had its
problems. If you remember, earlier, the stadium was supposed to host only two
games, but now, given that the finals would be the fourth successive match it
would host, it does become a problem for the ground and in turn for the pitch.
The curator will need to get the pitch spick and span for the final, unless
of course, he is a great fan of low-scoring encounters!
Having said that, it does come across like a game that will see the batting
of Mumbai Indians take on the bowling of Chennai Super Kings. Mumbai Indians
have not only exhibited a brilliant batting performance, but have also shown
that the side is not overly dependent on Sachin Tendulkar. In the last
three or four games, Tendulkar, much like Kallis, seems to have lost his touch,
but with the middle and the lower order doing well as a team, the side has barely
looked like they have been in trouble. In the semi-finals itself, the Mumbai
team had lost four successive wickets and looked like they would not even get
to 150; instead Kieron Pollard propelled them to 180 plus.
The problem for Mumbai is the injury for Sachin Tendulkar. He has sustained
five stitches on his finger and there is a good chance that he will not play
in the final, which will not only mean a new player will need to replace him,
but also that Zaheer Khan will be leading the side.
Ironically, it was Zaheer Khan who has led the bowling side for India
on many an occasion under the leadership of Dhoni and even set the fields without
the interference of the captain. Dhoni, the captain of Chennai will know this
and that could mean that the battle would get interesting.
To me, how the Mumbai Indians handle the spin of R Ashwin at the top of the
order will make all the difference to the result.
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