Punjab play for win against Mumbai (Preview)

Time is running out for Punjab. They have to get their act together very quickly and notch up some wins before their dream of a title win crashes to the ground. Five consecutive losses have relegated the home team to the bottom of points table and they are in a difficult situation playing against leaders Mumbai in a must-win match.

With the race for the top-four going down to the wire, the Priety Zinta owned team have to reproduce their earlier form when they won back to back matches before losing their way. Punjab has dropped intensity alarmingly ever since, the batsmen are simply not getting runs, the bowlers have been nowhere near their best and the fielding has been pedestrian.

With each of their remaining five matches like a knock-out for them, they have no choice but to come out all guns blazing. Though a difficult prospect, Adam Gilchrist has done it once with Hyderabad in IPL-2. However, he has had a disappointing tournament with the bat thus far. No big scores not even the quick fire cameos he specializes in, has dented the Punjab batting big time. He followed a couple of zeros with another low score in the last match against Pune. But, match-winners like him sooner or later come up with something special and what better chance to do it than against the very best.   

Since this is a home game for Punjab, the advantage has to be converted into a favorable result. The pitch as always would be good for batting with something for the faster bowlers. And, strangely the Punjab bowling that is tailor made for such conditions hasn’t done well. One of India’s well known swing bowlers, Praveen Kumar hasn’t impressed at all. The overseas buys in the bowling department have been equally ineffective.

At this moment, Punjab may be down but they are not out of it yet. So the only way to go is a win and since, there is no other option and it may bring the best out of them.

However, they are playing the best team in the tournament so far. 16 points have guaranteed Mumbai a slot in the top four and they would in all likelihood blood some new guys and give a few tired bodies much deserved rest. It would be interesting to see how a new captain goes about the job if Sachin Tendulkar is rested.

Punjab would fancy their chances if Mumbai decide to get some fresh players in as the visitor’s first choice team would not be easy to beat.

PUNJAB

Players who can make impact…

Adam Gilchrist…Where is the Gilchrist who struck fear in the minds of bowlers. He just doesn’t seem to be into it. A slog in the last match got him out and these are the shots he would connect on most days. The position his team are in should be some motivation nevertheless.

Ryan Harris…The Mohali pitch is the best place for pacers in whole of India and the Aussie would want to capitalize on that. Though the last home game did not go according to the script, Ryan would try to do his bit for the team cause.

SQUAD

Abhishek Nayar, Adam Gilchrist (c)(wk), Amit Yadav, Bhargav Bhatt, Bipul Sharma, David Hussey, David Miller, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Love Ablish, Mandeep Singh, Nathan Rimmington, Nitin Saini, Paras Dogra, Paul Valthaty, Piyush Chawla, Praveen Kumar, Ryan Harris, Shalabh Srivastava, Shaun Marsh, Siddharth Chitnis, Sunny Singh, Vikramjeet Malik, Ryan McLaren.

MUMBAI

Players who can make impact…

Rohit Sharma…. The former India international has all the shots in the book and has been the backbone of Mumbai middle-order. He is going from strength to strength and a spot in the national team seems just around the corner.

Aiden Blizzard….He shot into limelight in Mumbai’s last match by playing some incredible shots as an opener. The Aussie can definitely give the ball a serious whack.

SQUAD

Abu Nechim , Aditya Tare (wk), Aiden Blizzard, Ali Murtaza, Ambati Rayudu, Andrew Symonds, Davy Jacobs, Dhawal Kulkarni, Harbhajan Singh, James Franklin, Kieron Pollard, Lasith Malinga, Moises Henriques, Munaf Patel, Pawan Suyal, Rajagopal Sathish, Rohit Sharma, Sachin Tendulkar (c), Santosh Yadav, Sarul Kanwar, Tirumalsetti Suman, Yuzvendra Chahal