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Wounded Mumbai up against formidable Chennai
Smarting from the narrow defeat in their opening Indian Premier League tie, Mumbai Indians will have their task cut out when they lock horns with two-time winners Chennai Super Kings in Chennai on Saturday at a venue, which has been guarded like a fortress by the home team.
Mumbai came close to beating Royal Challengers Bangalore, before going down by two runs in a thrilling last-ball finish.
And the Ricky Ponting-led side now faces another stern test against a side that arguably has got the best record in the cash-rich Twenty20 league, having won it twice in 2010 and 2011.
Most settled combination
Going into the much-anticipated clash, Mumbai also must be well aware of the fact that the hosts have an impeccable record at the MA Chidambaram Stadium.
Chennai wouldn't have the services of Albie Morkel, who is to play for the Titans in the Ram Slam T20 Challenge final in South Africa.
Also missing the action in the first few games would be Faf du Plessis as the big-hitting batsman is down with an injury.
With the Sri Lankan players not allowed to play in Chennai, the home side will miss the services of Nuwan Kulasekara and Akila Dananjaya.
Chennai have one of the most settled combinations among the nine teams.Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni has led from the front over the past few seasons.
Then there is the left-handed Suresh Raina in the middle-order and opener Murali Vijay, whose confidence must have been boosted after a prolific Test series against Australia.
Hussey's role will be crucial
Among the foreigners, Michael Hussey and Dwayne Bravo will be the two men to watch out for.
Not to forget the presence of Subramaniam Badrinath who can defend as well use to long handle to good effect.
As far as CSK's bowling is concerned, they have in their ranks India's new spin twins in Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja. The spinners are coming off a fantastic Test series against Australia.
Jadeja would fit in as the all-rounder at number seven, while Ashwin is no bunny with the bat either.
There is also left-arm spinner Shadab Jakati.For the two fast-bowling slots, there would be competition between the foreign recruits -- Ben Hilfenhaus, Dirk Nannes, Jason Holder and Ben Laughlin.
All round ability
Coming back to the Mumbai Indians, they will be eager to set things right after a botched-up chase let the side down at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.
For the visitors to effect a turnaround, greats like Sachin Tendulkar and Ponting will be expected to guide the side by example.
Both Tendulkar and Ponting, arguably the two greatest batsmen in modern cricket, are highly respected by the best of bowlers no matter where they are playing.
The fierce competitors that they are, both will look to get good scores.
While Mumbai has the all-round ability to test any side, they will need to get their combination right. They might be tempted to send the big-hitting West Indian all-rounder Kieron Pollard up the order.
Rohit Sharma need to fire
Rohit Sharma will be hoping to find some form after yet another failure, while wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik will be look to continue his good form on his home ground.
The talented Ambati Rayudu, too, would be eager to score some runs after managing just 18 in the opening match.
Talking about Mumbai's bowling, newcomer Jaspreet Bumrah emerged as the surpriser element against RCB, returning impressive figures of three for 32.
Mitchell Johnson showed admirable control, and the others were also decent.