Mumbai seek better strategy against South Australia
Mumbai have everything that it may take to become a top Twenty20 side, yet in three years they have no silverware to show for their efforts. The game against South Australia could be the first step towards correcting that
Match facts
Mumbai v South Australia, Tuesday, September 14Start time 1730 (1530 GMT)
Big Picture
Mumbai Indians seem to have everything a team might need to become the best club side in the world. They have Sachin Tendulkar at the top, who has taken Twenty20 batting to a new risk-free plane. They have talented Indian domestic batsmen in the middle. They have Lasith Malinga, perhaps the best bowler in the format, to go with Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan, who more than hold their own against international sides, leave alone club teams. Their owners are one of the richest families in India, and they have spent merrily in acquiring the services of Kieron Pollard, Dwayne Bravo and JP Duminy among others.Team news
A niggle to Saurabh Tiwary cost Mumbai some firepower in the middle order, and they will be hoping he is fit to play. They also need to realise that Dwayne Bravo is a better, classier, more valuable cricketer than Pollard, and they can't afford to keep benching him. Not when their fourth overseas player, Ryan McLaren, is bowled for just one over and has hardly any role with the bat. Abhishek Nayar has been called up as cover for the injured Dhawal Kulkarni, but is unlikely to figure in the final XI even if he makes it in time.Watch out for ...
Kieron Pollard has played for so many teams it was inevitable he would come up against old mates one of these days. Good job that he plays a sport where who he is playing for is clearly defined. He is not at the risk of, say, instinctively passing the ball to the wrong team.Key contest
Shaun Tait v Lasith Malinga It will be a day to rejoice for the slingers of the world. Which of these round-arm hounds does better might just determine the course of the match.Stats and trivia
- Sachin Tendulkar has hit just 20 sixes in his 1437 runs. Among those who have crossed 1000 runs in the format, only Gautam Gambhir (20 sixes out of 1844) and Murray Goodwin (21 sixes out of 1671) have higher runs-to-sixes ratios.
Sidharth Monga is an assistant editor at Cricinfo