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Chennai: None of the five teams in Group A can afford to lose a single game in their pursuit of a semi-finals slot in the Champions League T20 and that will be very much at the back of the mind of Mumbai Indians and New South Wales Blues as they prepare to face-off at Chepauk here today.
In Group A standings, Mumbai Indians have five points from three matches, the Nashua Cape Cobras are on three from three, while the Super Kings and Blues are tied on two after two outings, and Trinidad and Tobago have lost both their matches but, theoretically, are not yet out of contention.
The severely depleted Mumbai Indians have been a revelation in this tournament with two hard-fought wins in their first two games, before the wash out Friday against the Cobras.
Given that eight of their regulars, including Sachin Tendulkar, Rohit Sharma and Munaf Patel, are on the injured list, Mumbai still managed to dig deep to come up with astonishing performances that have placed them on the doorstep of a semi-finals spot.Next round
Today they have a great chance of pushing that door wide open and stepping into the next round against the Blues who, despite a win against Trinidad, have been far from convincing and have performed way below expectations and potential.
Blues' problem seems to be one of getting the right combination. For their opening game against the Cobras, they were short on experience, but brought in Stuart Clark to inject some experience in their line-up, but the seamer's presence was barely noticed as the Blues triumphed in the Super Over following a tie in a low-scoring game.
The absence of Brett Lee (with Kolkata Knight Riders) and Doug Bollinger (Chennai Super Kings) has certainly blunted the Blues' bowling and though a few young tearaways have come in, these fast bowlers are still to mature into top class players.
All-rounder Moises Henriques has emerged as the Blues' mainstay and it was his heroics that carried them past Trinidad, but the onus will be on skipper Simon Katich to rally his troops that contain several promising youngsters for a better collective effort against Mumbai Indians who seem to be running into peak form.
In Bengaluru on Friday, Mumbai came up with their best batting performance yet.
In Group A standings, Mumbai Indians have five points from three matches, the Nashua Cape Cobras are on three from three, while the Super Kings and Blues are tied on two after two outings, and Trinidad and Tobago have lost both their matches but, theoretically, are not yet out of contention.
The severely depleted Mumbai Indians have been a revelation in this tournament with two hard-fought wins in their first two games, before the wash out Friday against the Cobras.
Given that eight of their regulars, including Sachin Tendulkar, Rohit Sharma and Munaf Patel, are on the injured list, Mumbai still managed to dig deep to come up with astonishing performances that have placed them on the doorstep of a semi-finals spot.Next round
Today they have a great chance of pushing that door wide open and stepping into the next round against the Blues who, despite a win against Trinidad, have been far from convincing and have performed way below expectations and potential.
Blues' problem seems to be one of getting the right combination. For their opening game against the Cobras, they were short on experience, but brought in Stuart Clark to inject some experience in their line-up, but the seamer's presence was barely noticed as the Blues triumphed in the Super Over following a tie in a low-scoring game.
The absence of Brett Lee (with Kolkata Knight Riders) and Doug Bollinger (Chennai Super Kings) has certainly blunted the Blues' bowling and though a few young tearaways have come in, these fast bowlers are still to mature into top class players.
All-rounder Moises Henriques has emerged as the Blues' mainstay and it was his heroics that carried them past Trinidad, but the onus will be on skipper Simon Katich to rally his troops that contain several promising youngsters for a better collective effort against Mumbai Indians who seem to be running into peak form.
In Bengaluru on Friday, Mumbai came up with their best batting performance yet.
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