Under-achievers Mumbai and RCB clash
4 April 2013 12:41 AM GMT
Two teams that have shown the promise but failed to deliver on big occasions come face to face when Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore clash in their opening match of IPL 6 on Thursday.
Mumbai Indians are the big-spending side and have the Champions League T20 trophy to show for all the money shelled out on acquiring star players. Besides, Mumbai have also been runners-up once and semifinalists twice in the previous IPL seasons. With Ricky Ponting as captain this time, Mumbai would be hoping to lay their hands on the IPL trophy for the first time.
In the batting department, Ambati Rayudu and Rohit Sharma would be looking to continue from where he left in the previous IPL where they amassed 333 and 433 runs respectively. Senior batsman Sachin Tendulkar would open with either Dwayne Smith or James Franklin, both of whom can contribute to the team with their bowling as well.
Also Ponting, who has had a good outing in Australia’s Big Bash and Shield Cricket tournaments since retiring from Test cricket, would be an asset at number three.Dinesh Karthik would give solidity to the middle-order.
RCB, on the other hand, will take the field with the young and feisty Virat Kohli leading the team. Known for being diffident in the initial stages of IPL, RCB have, in their arsenal, swashbuckling characters like Chris Gayle, Tillakaratne Dilshan and A B de Villiers, who can turn the game on its head in a jiffy. Kohli is not too far behind having been RCB’s leading run-getter (1639), but their over-dependence on Gayle has been a nightmare for the team. Gayle has won countless games single-handedly, but still has to come up good in big matches.
Mumbai Indians are the big-spending side and have the Champions League T20 trophy to show for all the money shelled out on acquiring star players. Besides, Mumbai have also been runners-up once and semifinalists twice in the previous IPL seasons. With Ricky Ponting as captain this time, Mumbai would be hoping to lay their hands on the IPL trophy for the first time.
In the batting department, Ambati Rayudu and Rohit Sharma would be looking to continue from where he left in the previous IPL where they amassed 333 and 433 runs respectively. Senior batsman Sachin Tendulkar would open with either Dwayne Smith or James Franklin, both of whom can contribute to the team with their bowling as well.
Also Ponting, who has had a good outing in Australia’s Big Bash and Shield Cricket tournaments since retiring from Test cricket, would be an asset at number three.Dinesh Karthik would give solidity to the middle-order.
RCB, on the other hand, will take the field with the young and feisty Virat Kohli leading the team. Known for being diffident in the initial stages of IPL, RCB have, in their arsenal, swashbuckling characters like Chris Gayle, Tillakaratne Dilshan and A B de Villiers, who can turn the game on its head in a jiffy. Kohli is not too far behind having been RCB’s leading run-getter (1639), but their over-dependence on Gayle has been a nightmare for the team. Gayle has won countless games single-handedly, but still has to come up good in big matches.
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