Mumbai vs Delhi, Tendulkar vs Sehwag, the star studded lineup vs one short on match winners, there are many ways to look at this clash of two cities renowned for for producing cricketing heroes for this country. This is truly a match that excites the cricket crazy Indian public regardless of who they may support to actually win the IPL. I hope this match lives up to its blockbuster billing, and even though my allegiance lies with Delhi, a closer look at the two teams I find the richly assembled Mumbai Indians squad as the favorites.
Mumbai Prospects
As always Mumbai and all of India(including delhites) will be hoping for a Tendulkar masterclass and even if he fails they still have a lot of firepower to fall back on with the likes of Symonds, Rohit Sharma, and Pollard all very capable of singlehandedly posting a daunting target.Rohit Sharma in particular will be looking to prove once again that he is a force to be reckoned with and that he deserves a place on the Indian cricket team.
As with the batting Mumbai again seem to have the advantage in this department too. Even though they are missing out on the services of Zaheer this they seem to have enough strength with Sri Lankan slinger Malinga, towering Fernando, a fired up Harbhajan and the ever consistent Munaf Patel bringing in a lot of experience and skill. Sachin also has at his disposal a host of bowlers to fill up the 5th bowlers slot with Symonds, Pollard, Rohit Sharma and himself if needed.
Watch out for this as they seem to have all the makings of being IPL champions.
Delhi Prospects
Delhi on the other hand have a top heavy batting line up and a lot will depend on the Sehwag and Warner partnership. They will need one of the two to play through majority of the overs and guide the young members of the team. Delhi have a few up and coming local lads in Unmukt Chand and Vikas Mishra though I doubt they will get much game time during this IPL season. They also have in the form of James Hopes and Andrew Mcdonald two multi-dimensional players who have the typical Australian fighting spirits but somehow I feel both lack that extra firepower which makes them good solid options rather than match winners.
When it comes to the bowling again it might just come down to a couple of players and how they perform at the start of the innings with the new ball. Morne Morkel and Irfan Pathan will share the bulk of the responsibility to skittle out the opposition batting.It is also yet to be seen if after the long injury lay what kind of form Pathan may bring to this team. That said depending on the team composition the daredevils might have Ashok Dinda, Agarkar, Hopes and Mcdonald bowling the other 12 overs. This indeed looks to be a very weak one dimensional bowling attack one that will be missing a good spinner.
Prediction
All in all Mumbai have a far superior batting and bowling line up and barring a Sehwag special I see them winning this comfortably.
Venue: Feroz Shah Kotla
Date: Sunday, April 10 2011
Start time: 1600 IST (1030 GMT)
Online Streaming Links
http://mencricket.com/
Mumbai Prospects
As always Mumbai and all of India(including delhites) will be hoping for a Tendulkar masterclass and even if he fails they still have a lot of firepower to fall back on with the likes of Symonds, Rohit Sharma, and Pollard all very capable of singlehandedly posting a daunting target.Rohit Sharma in particular will be looking to prove once again that he is a force to be reckoned with and that he deserves a place on the Indian cricket team.
As with the batting Mumbai again seem to have the advantage in this department too. Even though they are missing out on the services of Zaheer this they seem to have enough strength with Sri Lankan slinger Malinga, towering Fernando, a fired up Harbhajan and the ever consistent Munaf Patel bringing in a lot of experience and skill. Sachin also has at his disposal a host of bowlers to fill up the 5th bowlers slot with Symonds, Pollard, Rohit Sharma and himself if needed.
Watch out for this as they seem to have all the makings of being IPL champions.
Delhi Prospects
Delhi on the other hand have a top heavy batting line up and a lot will depend on the Sehwag and Warner partnership. They will need one of the two to play through majority of the overs and guide the young members of the team. Delhi have a few up and coming local lads in Unmukt Chand and Vikas Mishra though I doubt they will get much game time during this IPL season. They also have in the form of James Hopes and Andrew Mcdonald two multi-dimensional players who have the typical Australian fighting spirits but somehow I feel both lack that extra firepower which makes them good solid options rather than match winners.
When it comes to the bowling again it might just come down to a couple of players and how they perform at the start of the innings with the new ball. Morne Morkel and Irfan Pathan will share the bulk of the responsibility to skittle out the opposition batting.It is also yet to be seen if after the long injury lay what kind of form Pathan may bring to this team. That said depending on the team composition the daredevils might have Ashok Dinda, Agarkar, Hopes and Mcdonald bowling the other 12 overs. This indeed looks to be a very weak one dimensional bowling attack one that will be missing a good spinner.
Prediction
All in all Mumbai have a far superior batting and bowling line up and barring a Sehwag special I see them winning this comfortably.
Match Details
Venue: Feroz Shah Kotla
Start time: 1600 IST (1030 GMT)
Online Streaming Links
http://mencricket.com/
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