Faced with task of winning their remaining games just like in 2014, Rohit Sharma & Co. take on high-flying KKR tonight
Rohit Sharma thrives on hope. Having presided over the kind of comebacks Mumbai Indians have staged in the last couple of years, Sharma will rely on the four-letter word when they take on Kolkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede on Thursday.
The thrashing they suffered at the hands of AB de Villiers the other day hasn't dented Mumbai's spirit. Taking a cue from their four successive defeats and five back-to-back wins this season, MI will be hoping for another turnaround.
And mind you, it's just not another game. A win here will keep them in contention for the playoffs.
MI are placed sixth with 12 points while KKR are second with 15. Two wins in two games will give Mumbai 16 points, considered good enough to make the top-four cut.
"This game is like what the last six games have been. They have all been must-win games. We focus on every game like a knockout match. Tomorrow's game becomes the most important one in the tournament. We are not looking at the mathematics. We have no control over that. We obviously have control over the outcome of this match," Mumbai Indians coach Ricky Ponting said on Wednesday.
Well, if you thought Mumbai's practice session on Wednesday was about tension and pressure, you were wrong. It was free-spirited with the players doing their regular drills. One could sense confidence mixed with equal amounts of hope.
Punter, too, hoped of a positive outcome. "(The situation) was the same last year. We had our backs to the wall. I hope our guys do that. We thrive under pressure. We make changes, we try to come out with the right combination. The last three-four weeks have been very good," the Australian great said.
This clash is just not about points. The MI-KKR rivalry is among the most high-profile and celebrated encounters for its power quotient.
KKR may be the team in form, but Mumbai are a different outfit at home. The first leg victory in the home match at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata will matter less considering the fact that Sharma & Co. will have the crowd backing big time.
Sharma's batsmen have been in decent form. Their bowling attack, comprising seamers Lasith Malinga, Mitchell McClenaghan and Jasprit Bumrah, and the spinners have been largely ordinary. MI will have to tighten the screws and keep a watch on game-changer Andre Russell.
Mumbai will have to look out for KKR's bowling attack. In Sunil Narine, veteran Brad Hogg and wily leggie Piyush Chawla, they have a superb spin-bowling attack.
All in all, it's going to be one mouth-watering clash between MI's batsmen and KKR's spinners.
r_taus@dnaindia.net
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