Chennai's bowling consultant Eric Simmons says table-toppers can't afford to take Mumbai Indians lightly in Pune despite their poor run in IPL-11
Members of the Mumbai team celebrate the wicket of Hyderabad's Shakib Al Hassan during their IPL encounter in Hyderabad recently. Pic/AFP
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If current form is anything to go by, then tonight's T20 game between Chennai and Mumbai is a no contest. How can a team that have won five out of six games this season be threatened by a side that have lost five of their six games so far? Table- toppers Chennai taking on the team that are at the bottom of the ladder. Makes a sound theory. But then that's where the uncertainty of T20 cricket comes into play, something the Chennai camp is well aware of.
"A team that look down and out and are under pressure, that's where they are at their most dangerous," Chennai's bowling consultant Eric Simmons pointed out on the eve of his team's second game at their adopted home here. One would expect Chennai to approach this game professionally and take nothing for granted. But it's also obvious that the hosts have hardly anything to worry about. Most of their top six batsmen have fired once or more, and the bowlers have done enough to ensure that the opposition don't outscore their batsmen. Mumbai, on the other hand, have more questions than answers. None of their big guns, from Rohit Sharma and Kieron Pollard to the Pandya brothers, have fired consistently with the bat. And barring the surprise package of leg-spinner Mayank Markande, none of their bowlers have penetrated enough to win games for the team.
Eric Simons
'All have match-winners' All that, as Simmons pointed out, can change today of course. "All the teams in this T20, they have got genuine match-winners. One brilliant individual performance can turn the game," Simmons said. And no one can doubt the ability of someone like Rohit to single handedly change the outcome of a T20 game. Barring a terrific 94 against Royal Challengers Bangalore, Rohit has had a quiet first half this season. And more than anyone else, the skipper himself would be keen to change that.
Out of the six games so far, Rohit has opened twice, and has batted in the Mumbaiddle-order in the other four. Considering the opposition's strong batting line-up and short square boundaries on a belter here, it wouldn't be a bad idea for Rohit to open with Suryakumar Yadav. Bravo turned it around It was only due to Dwayne Bravo's brilliance with the bat that Mumbai were beaten by Chennai in the tournament opener three weeks ago at the Wankhede Stadium. About 150 km away from the Wankhede tonight, Rohit & Co. will be hoping for a different result.
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