27 May,2011 07:42 AM IST | | Sai Mohan
Mumbai coach Robin Singh says his bowlers are confident of conquering big-hitting RCB star today
Today's Mumbai Indians vs Royal Challengers Bangalore Qualifier 2 may be a repeat of last year's semi-final, but a lot has transpired since. Zaheer Khan and Saurabh Tiwary have switched teams, the 'Chris Gayle factor' was missing, Bangalore has a totally fresh squad, and the game is at a neutral venue.
While Mumbai haven't visited Chennai since last season, Bangalore lost by 21 runs during their mid-April trip here.
Two good! Royal Challengers Bangalore's big-hitter Chris Gayle and
Mumbai Indians' batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar
Yesterday, Bangalore enjoyed an extensive work-out session here at MA Chidambaram while most of Mumbai's top players skipped the optional training session. In fact, Harbhajan Singh took a quick visit to the ground just to assess the pitch.
Mumbai Indians' coach Robin Singh conceded that it was hard to look past Gayle, who has scored an incredible 519 runs from 10 games (SR: 184). "Obviously, you can't ignore the fact that Gayle is in terrific form. Similarly most of our bowlers have been bowling exceptionally well. You have to back yourself to bowl well against anyone. It doesn't matter whether it's Gayle or anyone else," Singh told reporters yesterday.
Singh's assessment of Mumbai's bowlers is spot-on, as Lasith Malinga (28 wickets), Munaf Patel (20 wickets), Harbhajan Singh (14 wickets) have formed a potent attack.
On the other hand, Bangalore have won most of their games thanks to their batting.
Bangalore skipper Daniel Vetttori is confident that his bowlers will step up when it counts: "Yes, I cannot deny that Chris' batting has set up some of the recent wins. But, I have been really pleased with the way we have bowled as a unit. In the last game, Chris didn't have too many runs but we were able to put up a competing total. I think there are no worries in our camp on these aspects."
The IPL final is tomorrow ufffd less than 24 hours after Qualifier 2, but Vettori is looking at it positively:u00a0 "I do not think the players will feel tired (to play on consecutive nights) because we would have won a big game going into the final. That is enough motivation. The guys are ready to give their best at all times, including the final."
The side batting first has won six out of seven games here at MA Chidambaram Stadium this season. However, it is expected to hold up nicely over the 40 overs today.
"The groundsman told me that the wicket will be good to play on tomorrow. Probably, the wicket for the final will turn a lot more than this.u00a0 The players, who have played in the last 15 games for us have performed well. These factors don't matter to us," said Vettori.
Singh and TA Sekar, who form the core team of the Mumbai management hail from Chennai. "To some extent (we will benefit from that), but these days, everyone is aware of conditions in India," said Singh.
Mumbai took a 4-3 lead against Bangalore during last year's semi-final. They took a further lead with a 9-wicket victory earlier this season at Wankhede Stadium. Singh is not concerned about the past. "It's obviously a knockout game. We have done pretty well well against RCB in the past but this is a fresh game, and we have to start from scratch.u00a0 Also, Gayle was not around in their squad when we played at the start of the season. He's brought in something extra for them," he said.
