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Friday, September 27, 2013

Mumbai face Lions in must-win match


JAIPUR: Having been involved in one defeat and a washout, Mumbai Indians will be under pressure as they face Highveld Lions in a crucial Champions League T20 match on Friday.

The match has been shifted to Jaipur from Ahmedabad at the eleventh hour because of heavy rains in Gujarat.


Mumbai lost to Rajasthan Royals in the opening match of the tournament and the IPL champions will be desperate to pick up their first win to stay in the hunt.


Sachin Tendulkar, playing his last tournament for the Mumbai Indians, contributed a 15-run cameo against the Royals but come Friday, Mumbai will need more than that from their star batsman.


Skipper Rohit Sharma continued to impress with his game sense while Kieron Pollard was also impressive with a 36-ball 47 down the order. Besides these two, the likes of Dwayne Smith, Dinesh Kartik and Ambati Rayudu have the ability to contribute with their experience and hard work.


The Mumbai Indian skipper admitted on Thursday that they have to win the next two matches.


"We have a chance to win if we can play our natural game. Our primary motto is to focus on the game and don't give too much importance to the opponents," Rohit said. "I was watching the Lions match yesterday against Rajasthan Royals. We also have plenty of arsenal at our disposal. We shouldn't take unnecessary pressure. In CLT20, every match is important. I feel we should look forward and focus on our game."


Rohit doesn't think their performance against Rajasthan Royals was a matter for concern. "It was just a matter of a few more runs. Had we made 15-20 more the story of that match could have been different."


The Alviro Petersen-led Lions are aware that the players will have to play out of their skins to beat the star-studded Mumbai Indians. Neil McKenzie, Petersen, Quinton de Kock and Gulam Bodi are the main players, besides Sohail Tanvir and Lonwabo Tsotsobe - the two key bowlers.


Tanvir admitted: "With one game washed out and one loss, we are aware of the enormity of the situation," he said. The Pakistani pacer, however, believes that the Lions are better equipped as compared to the opponents on the Jaipur pitch.


"Our batsmen are used to playing on hard and bouncy wickets. I feel we would be better equipped on this surface," said Tanvir. Sharma too feels the surface suits his team. "We have similar kinds of wickets in Mumbai. The condition here is almost the same," Rohit said.


"We were unfortunate that because of rains in Ahmedabad we could not practice for 3-4 days and our match was also washed out. I am happy that at least in Jaipur we had a good practice session. There are no injury worries and we are raring to go."






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Shweta Pandey

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