Mumbai Indians take on Kochi Tuskers Kerala: Match Preview – IPL 4
The Mumbai Indians are all set to take on the Kochi Tuskers http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Kerala-c803 in Friday’s match of the Indian Premier League to be played at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai.
This will be the first time since the final of the ICC World Cup 2011 that India’s Sachin Tendulkar and Sri Lanka’s Mahela Jayawardene will be on opposite ends.
This time both the prolific batsmen are leading their squads. Sachin is captaining the Mumbai Indians while Jayawardene is leading the Kochi Tuskers. Both teams have quite at stake, Mumbai do not want to lose in front of their home crowd, while Kochi need
a point to prove that they are indeed a force to reckon with in this year’s IPL.
However, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Shanthakumaran-Sreesanth-c89725.
The two are the only players who have the ability to cause problems for their opposition. In batting, players like Jayawardene, Brendon McCullum and VVS Laxman will have to make the best out of their innings if they want their team to have any chance against
the dynamic Mumbai team.
There is a possibility of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Andrew-Symonds-c44611 making a come-back in the Mumbai squad and if this happens, Kochi will be in one big mess of a problem if they allow him to clobber his way back in this year’s tournament. The return of Symonds will also
mean that he will have to play alongside http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Harbhajan-Singh-c61453, as the two have a bitter history together from the 2008 series in Australia.
However, Singh has insisted that having Symonds in the same team will not be an issue as the two have put their past to rest and everything between them is fine now.
Kochi will have to ensure that they do not give wickets to the ever dangerous Lasith Malinga, who seems to be in an unbeatable form these days and is bowling superbly with the old and new ball. Facing Malinga will be the biggest test for Kochi’s batsmen.
McCullum will have to settle in before trying to go after the low-arm action of Malinga.
Batting first may not suit Kochi as any total they put on the board will be a bit too little for Tendulkar’s squad. The best option will be to put Mumbai to bat and restrict them by taking early wickets.
Players to watch out for:
Mumbai Indians: Mumbai have a barrage of players who can rattle any opposition on any given day. It is going to be Tendulkar, Malinga, Harbhajan, Munaf Patel and Symonds that Kochi will need to watch out for.
Kochi Tuskers Kerala: From Kochi it is going to be skipper Jayawardene, Murali, Sreesanth and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Brad-Hodge-c1184 who can prove fatal for Mumbai.
Weather Report: Friday is expected to be a sunny day in Mumbai with clear skies and temperatures reaching as high as 31C.
Expected squads:
Mumbai: Sachin Tendulkar, Rohit Sharma, Munaf Patel, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Rajagopal-c83414 Satish, Harbhajan Singh.
Kochi Tuskers Kerala: Brendon McCullum, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Raiphi-Gomez-c2250.
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