Mumbai Indians set to rock IPL

In-form Sachin Tendulkar is available for the whole tournament. So are Jayasuriya, Harbhajan and Duminy. Will Mumbai Indians rock today?

Mumbai Indians set to rock IPL

In-form Sachin Tendulkar is available for the whole tournament. So are Jayasuriya, Harbhajan and Duminy. Will Mumbai Indians rock today?

Sachin Tendulkar (right) and Sanath Jayasuriya will be the key to Mumbai Indians' success in IPL-2. The most expensive IPL team faces last year's runners-up Chennai Super Kings in the tournament opener today. pic/mid day archives

Defending champions Rajasthan Royals could find it tough this time around, starting with their opening clash against Bangalore Royal Challengers in the second match of a double header which gets the five-week, 2009 tournament underway.

Mumbai Indians meet Chennai Super Kings, who were runners-up last year, in the early match.

The battle between the Mumbai and Chennai franchises should get the tournament off to a cracking start.

Mumbai Indians will be led by Indian icon Sachin Tendulkar, who missed most of the first series because of injury.

Their squad had a pre-season training camp in South Africa under the direction of Shaun Pollock, appointed as team mentor, and fielding ace Jonty Rhodes.

With teams only able to field four non-Indian players, Mumbai have a stronger core of Indian stars than some of their rivals, with Tendulkar and Test bowlers Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh in their squad.

Overseas aces include Sri Lanka's Sanath Jayasuriya, West Indian Dwayne Bravo and South Africa's JP Duminy.

Chennai Super Kings were runners-up last year and will again provide a formidable challenge.

Led by the dynamic Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, they have been strengthened by the signing of England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff, who joins Australian batsman Matthew Hayden, South African all-rounder Albie Morkel and Sri Lankan spin bowler Muttiah Muralitharan in what looks a powerful squad.

Seam likely to rule
Meanwhile, the relocation of the world's richest cricket league from India to South Africa means that conditions will be different, with seam bowlers likely to get far more assistance than they did in the inaugural tournament.

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