A look at their head-to-head record says that there is little to choose between Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings. In 18 clashes against the two-time champions, Mumbai have won nine and lost as many.
A look at their head-to-head record says that there is little to choose between Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings. In 18 clashes against the two-time champions, Mumbai have won nine and lost as many.
But history will count for nothing when the two line up for yet another clash at the Wankhede on Friday night. The match will be crucial particularly for the hosts as they are yet to win this season. While CSK have won both their matches, Mumbai have only gone from bad to worse in three games.
Chennai Super Kings are a well-rounded unit with hardly anything changed from last season. Led by Mahendra Singh Dhoni, CSK have played both their games at home, and with the same XI.
CSK know how to win games and from any position as they have the manpower to do it time and again. And of course, they have Dhoni, who has also guided the side to three second-place finishes. This apart, CSK have lifted two Champions League T20 titles, the same as Mumbai Indians, in six editions.
Mumbai Indians, on the other hand, have played 16 players in three games and are still searching for the right combination that would earn them the first points this season. Even the ploy of skipper Rohit Sharma dropping himself from the opening slot to No. 4 failed to yield the desired result.
It is not that Mumbai Indians don't have the wherewithal for a T20 match. They have the players, each of whom is a match-winner in his own right. It's just that they have not fired as a team.
Failing as a unit in one game, or at the most two, is understandable. But three? This is something serious that the gifted think-tank of coach Ricky Ponting, chief mentor Anil Kumble and icon Sachin Tendulkar will have to address quickly, lest they go the way the erstwhile Deccan Chargers went in the inaugural edition or how Delhi Daredevils finished last year.
Looking at the changes Mumbai have made, one can't understand why West Indian Lendl Simmons hasn't been played yet. The 30-year-old Trinidadian ought to have been the first-choice fourth foreigner — Kieron Pollard, Corey Anderson and Lasith Malinga are automatic selections — in the XI ahead of Australian Aaron Finch. Simmons was MI's highest scorer last season (394).
While there is no doubt that Finch is an explosive opener, he did hardly anything of note in the World Cup except for the century against England in the inaugural game and an important 81 against India in perfect batting conditions in the semifinal in Sydney.
With Finch ruled out of the rest of IPL-8 due to hamstring injury sustained in the last game, the path is clear for Simmons to get a look-in.
Also, what did not work for MI was the failure of Ambati Rayudu, a vital cog in Sharma's scheme of things last year. Perhaps, Rayudu was scratchy because of the fact that he has not played for nearly two months. All he was doing was warm the bench in India's World Cup campaign.
It is now or never for MI, who had a similar start in 2014, losing their first five games — all in the Middle East — before opening their account in their first home game. Mumbai went on to finish in the top four and qualify for the playoffs. For them to do an encore and even go the full distance, it has to start now.
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