Mumbai Indians need one more win to make semis

Courtesy divine intervention in Bangalore on Friday night, none of the five teams in Group A can afford to lose even a single game in their pursuit of a semifinal 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 ahead of their face-off at the Chepauk here on Sunday.


Mumbai Indians' fate will depend largely on Kieron Pollard.
Pic/AFP

In Group A, 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.

On Sunday, Mumbai Indians 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 in an attempt to inject some experience in their line-up.

Clark optimistic
Clark, meanwhile, believes that his team can yet go all the way in the tournament provided they build on the starts and adhere to the basics. "The game is what it is. You got to get one more run than the opposition and the wicket isn't conducive to batting all the time," Clark said.

"So, from a batting point of view, we would have liked to see them (the openers Warner and Watson) get a few more runs and some of the guys to go on and make a big score of 70 or 80 or something like that."

Live on TV:
MI vs NSW, on
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