 A Guyana side that was thrashed by a rampant Royal Challengers Bengaluru will
play the Mumbai Indians in their next game at Kingsmead, Durban. They
will be desperate for some positives after a game in which they stuttered, struggled
and got soundly beaten. While the margin is huge, the manner of defeat too would
have hurt Guyana. None of their batsman, apart from Chris Barnwell, applied
themselves. The lack of runs on the board gave no margin for the bowlers and
they too were punished by Jacques Kallis, Rahul Dravid and then by Robin Uthappa.
Click for Live Score Card of Mumbai Indians Vs Guyana Ramnaresh Sarwan is the key. He alone has played under these conditions and
will need to fire against a Mumbai Indians side that does not have a bowling
attack as strong as the Royal Challengers. Apart from Lasith Malinga,
none of the others offer any threat in these conditions. Jonathan Foo, who was
billed by his captain as the next Kieron Pollard, will have to show the world
if he deserves that name. He should be promoted up the order to take his time
before attacking. Christopher Barnwell, who was the only batsman who looked
comfortable against the Royal Challengers, will hold the key in the middle of
the innings.
The bowling too has to come good against a very good batting side. Sachin Tendulkar is in prime form and Kieron Pollard is probably the best hitter
in the game now. Lennox Cush, the off spinner who opens the bowling for Guyana,
will have a tough time against Tendulkar. The master batsman would want to attack
the spinner right away, not allowing him to settle.
The Mumbai Indians need to get their bowling combinations right. They were
too expensive in their first game. Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan, both
experienced bowlers, failed to live up to expectations. The bowling, apart from
Lasith Malinga, does not look threatening enough for a side that is a contender
for the title. The fifth bowling option is a mix of Pollard, JP Duminy and Rajagopal Satish and will be targeted by sides.
However, they should not have as many
problems against a Guyana side that is very low on confidence now.
Mumbai Indians will start as favorites once again because of the star names
in their side. But they will also be wary of a Guyana side which is desperate
for a win. They would not want to get into a precarious position of needing
a win from the last game against the Royal Challengers.
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