Preview and Live Streaming of IPL2010 match Mumbai Indians v Kings XI Punjab at Mumbai

Not too many would have visualised the context behind this contest.

Mumbai Indians play the Kings XI Punjab at the Brabourne Stadium, and while one team needs only a couple or three wins to get through to the semi-finals from their remaining eight games, the other needs to win almost all. What has been a surprising turnaround is that Mumbai Indians are the team at the top of the table, while Kings XI Punjab are at the fag end. Mumbai has lost one, Punjab has won one!

Add to that Kumar Sangakkara’s suspension. Now that was a costly one in more ways than one. Having already fined him $20,000 and $40,000 in the first couple of occasions, the third one was not only a heftier penalty but also a one-match ban. Wonder though, whether it would end up doing him more good, as h takes a break and gets a different perspective of what is happening to the side. The conspiracy theorists have already labelled Yuvraj Singh’s lack of efforts as the chief reason behind the losses, but one must remember that even Kumar Sangakkara’s form with the bat has been anything but extraordinary.

Mumbai are in a zone of their own. Sachin Tendulkar has been a rock and the rest of them are performing around him. In the first couple of games, there were Saurabh Tiwary and Ambati Rayadu who did that, and later it was the turn of Shikhar Dhawan to come to the party, with Harbhajan Singh providing the fireworks in the previous game. This could be the game where the West Indian duo of Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard may come into their own.

Team News:
Punjab have at least one forced change to make in the form of Sangakkara, and there can hardly be any doubt that Shaun Marsh will walk in. However, what would be interesting would be to see whether the side goes in with an extra spinner in Ramesh Powar, who has had the experience of bowling at the Brabourne, given that he is the Mumbai lad. Think Shalbh Srivastava could be afforded a break. Mahela Jayawardene will lead the side.

Mumbai, on the other hand, may not make any changes to their line-up. They possess five frontline bowlers in Zaheer, McLaren, Malinga, Bravo and Harbhajan, and with Kieron Pollard doing the support job, they do not really need to fiddle around with their bowling. If at all there will be a worry, it will be with the gloves behind the wicket. Aditya Tare was abysmal but his replacement, Rayadu was as uncomfortable as a fish out of water. Think, he will still be afforded another game behind the stumps though.

Head-to-Head:
It is 3-1 in favour of the Punjab side. But, it must be recalled that two of the three games that Mumbai lost could have gone any way, and were decided off the last ball. Time for Mumbai to reduce the deficit!

The Odds Checker:
Expectedly, Mumbai are hot favourites, going in at 4/7 (Stan James) as compared to 13/8 offered by 888Sport. Not too many would be betting against that, despite the format of the game.

You can follow the live commentary and live score of the match between Mumbai Indians and Kings XI Punjab on Cricinfo.

You can also watch the DLF IPL match between Delhi Daredevils and Kolkata Knight Riders live online on Youtube.

You can also watch the DLF IPL match between Delhi Daredevils and Kolkata Knight Riders live on Set Max.

Related posts:

1. Preview and Live Streaming of IPL2010 match Mumbai Indians v Chennai Super Kings at Mumbai
2. Preview and Live Streaming of IPL2010 match Deccan Chargers v Mumbai Indians at Mumbai
3. Preview and Live Streaming of IPL2010 match Mumbai Indians vs Kolkata Knight Riders at Brabourne, Mumbai
4. Preview and Live Streaming of IPL2010 match Kings XI Punjab v Kolkata Knight Riders at Mohali
5. Preview and Live Streaming of IPL2010 match Rajasthan Royals v Kings XI Punjab at PCA, Mohali

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Posted by Sam on Mar 30 2010. Filed under Match Highlights. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry