Durban: Bangalore's loss on Friday against the South Australia Redbacks has given the Mumbai Indians a ray of hope to qualify for the semi-finals of the Champions League T20 and turned their game against fellow IPL side on Sunday into a virtual quarter-final clash.
With one win from three games and the last league outing on Sunday, Mumbai know that they must win this game to keep their hopes alive of making it to the last four. It definitely helps that they have a positive net run rate and a big win will only help them as the photo-finish in the race to the second semi-final spot hots up in this group and will in all probability be decided by decimals.
The Lions, who are placed fourth in the group, will eye a win against Guyana in the first game of the day. A win will put them on four points and also put them within striking distance of a semi-final berth with one game left to play. Bangalore too have two games left, but the team management will surely like to register two straight wins to wrap up a semi-final spot without any more hiccups.
Only Mumbai have Sunday's game to play and therefore, cannot afford to lose the plot now. They have paid for the price of batting and bowling inconsistently and have been stunned by less-fancied sides in two games.
The Sachin Tendulkar-led side had promised a lot with their impressive IPL season but have just failed to click as a unit here.
Except for Sri Lankan pacer Lasith Malinga, who has bagged six wickets by conceding 83 runs in the three matches, none of the Mumbai Indians bowlers have made a mark and that has been the main reason for their tough times in this tournament.
Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh have been disappointing so far. Zaheer has taken just one wicket having conceded 105 runs in the three matches, while Harbhajan has scalped two at the expense of 86 runs.
On the other hand, Royal Challengers Bangalore began the tournament with an easy nine-wicket win over Guyana with South African Jacques Kallis starring with the bat and ball. They, however, were brought down to earth with a humiliating eight-wicket loss to South Australia Redbacks on Friday.
Without Kallis, the Anil Kumble-led side failed in both batting and bowling as they were shot out for 154 and then none of their bowlers, including the captain himself and South African Dale Steyn, making much impact against the Australian side.
The two teams shape up equally on paper. It's Tendulkar's genius vs Kumble's determination, but one still feels that Bangalore will have an edge in this battle of the giants.
Kumble:Batting failure cost us the match.
Durban: Royal Challenger Bangalore skipper Anil Kumble on Friday held his team's batting failure for the humiliating eight-wicket defeat to South Australia in the Champions League Twenty20 Group B match here.
"Too many wickets at regular intervals, especially losing (Ross) Taylor at that stage. Dillon (du Preez) got us to 150, we could have put pressure if we got early wickets," a disappointed Kumble said after the match.
"We could have bowled better, but should have had 15 runs more," he added.
Preez and Taylor scored an identical 46 to help Bangalore overcome a mid-innings slump and post 154 although it later proved insufficient.
Kumble also admitted that they missed South African all-rounder Jacques Kallis' service on Friday and hoped he will be available for the next match in the tournament.
"The next game is a must-win for us. Hopefully Kallis will be fit for the game," he said.
RCB now takes on another IPL side Mumbai Indians on September 19 here.
Meanwhile, South Australia captain Michael Klinger, who was adjudged man-of-the-match, was satisfied with the team's performance.
"This is really good all-round performance. We have got the talent to beat anyone and the boys are believing in it at the moment. Great atmosphere in the dressing room, this is fantastic," he said.
"(Shaun) Tait is a fantastic weapon for us. Daniel Christian is one of the best in the death," he added.
The captain also said that they have put much effort to improve the fielding of the team.
"We have put a lot of efforts in fielding and we are getting the results," said Klinger, who made an unconquered 69 off 57 balls with the help of nine fours and a six.
Will the math add up for Mumbai?
New Delhi: When most Indian captains needed a breakthrough in a match, they used to turn to Anil Kumble and more often than not the man obliged. Mumbai skipper Sachin Tendulkar now needs a favour from old friend and the Bangalore skipper if his side is to be in even with a chance of making it to the semi-finals of the Champions League T20.
Mumbai finally won their first game in the tournament on Thursday as they beat Guyana by 31 runs. The problem though is that they squandered away their first two games and are now left with playing Bangalore on Sunday. It's a do-or-die game and everyone knows it will be a gritty affair and neither Kumble nor Tendulkar will give an inch to each other.
For Mumbai the equation is pretty clear, they have to win on Sunday and hope that Bangalore win all their remaining games. And it will only get better if the law of averages catches up with Guyana and they manage to upset the Redbacks on Tuesday.
The Redbacks sit pretty at the top of the table with two out of two wins and four points. They are followed by Bangalore with one win but with a net run rate of +3.445. The good thing is that Bangalore has played only one game. Mumbai and the Lions are on two points each, while Guyana is yet to open its account.
A strong and in-form Bangalore may well be able to beat the Redbacks on Friday and the Lions on Tuesday. But what does look difficult is that Guyana will have to pull a rabbit out of its hat, not once but twice. Mumbai will be kicking themselves for having lost their first two games. Now it's all upto the math and unfortunately it doesn't seem to be adding up for them this time.
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