Excitement over talk of Tendulkar's return

[Lily]

Mumbai: In a derby clash, the formidable Mumbai Indians take on the Delhi Daredevils at the Wankhede Stadium today.

It's been a while since either of the teams took to the field. The Daredevils were last seen in action on April 10, when they beat Chennai Super Kings. Harbhajan Singh's team, on the other hand, last took the field on April 11, when they defeated Rajasthan Royals in a high-scoring game at the Wankhede Stadium.

Sachin Tendulkar, meanwhile, received throwdowns from the Mumbai Indians' video analyst, raising hopes of returning to action. The batsman had missed MI's previous three games due to a finger injury sustained while fending off a bouncer from Doug Bollinger in the season's opener against Chennai Super Kings on April 4.

Tendulkar receiving throwdowns from Dhananjay for about 45 minutes was welcome news for Mumbai, who have missed the senior batsman's presence at the top of the batting order. In Tendulkar's absence, Mumbai Indians have experimented with Ambati Rayudu and T. Suman as partners for South African Richard Levi, without much success.

"He had started gym sessions on Friday at the BKC ground but did not do any batting practice. He has started practising only on Saturday," a team source said. Tendulkar did not take part in the net session after facing the throwdowns, but was expected to do so yesterday [Sunday].

Team mentor and bowling coach Shaun Pollock had indicated that the cricketer would be available to play in the game against Delhi, a day before MI's previous match against Rajasthan Royals here on April 11.

He missed that tie, which Mumbai won. He was also unable to play against Pune Warriors here and against Deccan Chargers in Vishakapatnam on April 6 and 9 respectively.

The inclusion of Mahela Jayawardene and Kevin Pietersen has made Delhi look very dangerous.
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