Today, MI – opened
with Zaheer and Bumrah............. a boy with an awkward action, who at 19 got the opportunity to play with Sachin, Ricky Ponting and
Pollard………..
it is Jasprit Jasbirsingh Bumrah from Gujarat, bowls right arm
medium with an indescribable action ~ and that was last year... in his debut
match against RCB – over 5 - RCB were 7
with Gayle 3 off 7; he bowled short and wide, was slammed over cover for 4; 2nd again went through
cover; 3rd a minor respite; 4th again
banged over cover for another 4 .. just
as you thought it to be a nightmare of a start – he landed poorly almost outside the crease. Off the fifth, an incoming delivery trapped
Virat Kohli and with first ball of 7th
over had Mayank Agarwal too… today he went wicketless ........
Mumbai Indians
entered Pepsi IPL 2014 with a huge amount of expectation that comes with being
the defending champions. They failed
miserably thus far, winless in their five games in the UAE, today they faced
table toppers Punjab. After conceding 168 runs to KXIP, MI’s chase was fuelled
by the late-innings heroics of Kieron Pollard and Aditya Tare, who took their
team home with five balls to spare. Earlier, George Bailey won the toss and
decided to bat first at Wankhede Stadium. MI must be ruing their decision of not retaining Glenn Maxwell, whom they
spotted last year and paid a hefty price .... now after 6 matches – he holds
the Orange cap with 345 runs – next is Dwaye Smith with 256; closely followed
by Brendon McCullum 249 (both CSK); next comes Ajinka Rahane 182 and Duminy 173
– none from MI in that list. The bowing
honours purple cap is held by Mohit Sharma [after 6 matches] 11 wickets; Ravindra
Jadeja 10; Sunil Narine, Lasith Malinga and Sandeep Sharma are all with 9
wickets – are the top 5. Sandeep has played 2 matches less than others.
Here are some
excerpts of an article in Cricinfo by G. Nagaraj which makes very interesting
reading : Sachin
Tendulkar stood behind the dressing room door in Dubai, shadow-practising
strokes he once played in the middle. Out in the centre, Kieron Pollard was
trying hard - eventually in vain - to stabilise the Mumbai Indians' middle
order against Sunrisers Hyderabad in their final match of the IPL's UAE leg.
How sorely Mumbai have missed Tendulkar's calming presence in the XI this year.
But, if we dare ask, is Tendulkar causing a distraction with his presence in
the dressing room? The batsman had announced his retirement from the IPL last
year, but the franchise appointed him as an icon. In addition to being the
franchise's brand ambassador, Tendulkar is also around during the team's
training sessions. Tendulkar, however,
is not the only great player on the Mumbai coaching roaster. Anil Kumble is the
chief mentor, John Wright is the head coach, Jonty Rhodes is the fielding coach
and, recently, Ricky Ponting joined as consultant. The stars are followed by a
second line of assistant coaches, which includes former India allrounder Robin
Singh.
Little
wonder then that a member of another franchise's coaching staff mockingly said
that Mumbai's coaching line-up looked better than their playing XI after five
straight defeats this season. Is there a possibility this collection of greats
in the dressing room, all mighty thinking heads, may also be intimidating and
distracting for some of the younger players?
There are three sets of players in the Mumbai squad. The first is a
senior one, comprising Zaheer Khan, Harbhajan Singh, Michael Hussey and Lasith
Malinga. The second is made up of slightly more experienced hands, like Rohit
Sharma, Pollard and Ambati Rayudu, and then the rookies.
~ with all of them MI
at last tasted a victory. Mumbai Indians 170 for 5 (Rohit 39, Anderson 35,
Gautam 33, Pollard 28*) beat Kings XI Punjab 168 for 5 (Saha 59*, Maxwell 45)
by five wickets ... that one handed pull by Kieron Pollard and his smashing
Johnson revealed it all. Mumbai Indians
needed 41 off the last three overs but Kieron Pollard and Aditya Tare
catapulted their side home with five deliveries to spare and ended Kings XI
Punjab's victorious five-game run.
With regards – S.
Sampathkumar
3rd May 2014 @ 08.45 pm. photo credit : iplt20.com
