Mumbai Eyes Semis Berth Against Chennai

Chennai: Their semifinal hopes reignited after the win over Rajasthan Royals, Chennai Super Kings will have revenge on mind against table-toppers Mumbai Indians when the two sides take on each other on Tuesday.

Mumbai Indians are virtually assured of a semifinal berth and Sachin Tendulkar's men would, therefore, be looking to consolidate their position at the top of points table on Tuesday.

Chennai, on the other hand, need to win three more ties from the remaining five league encounters to have hopes of reaching the semifinals.

Tendulkar's consistent batting has ensured Mumbai's win in eight out of nine matches so far, their only loss coming against Royal Challengers Bangalore.

Mumbai's morale is high and team's confidence can be judged from the fact that they are yet to give a chance to big-hitters like Sri Lankan legend Sanath Jayasuriya and South African Jean-Paul Duminy.

Chennai, meanwhile, have been boosted by the arrival of Australian imports Mike Hussey and Doug Bollinger. While Hussey has lent depth to their batting, Bollinger's pace has added zing to their bowling.

But to rope in Hussey in the side, skipper MS Dhoni faces the tough choice of having to drop either Matthew Hayden or Albie Morkel.

Dhoni's own form would be a cause of concern for him. He hasn't quite lived up to the expectations and was dismissed for a duck against Rajasthan in the last match.

There is also a question mark over his fitness, which has only compunded Dhoni's troubles.

Whereas, Mumbai have a clear edge as their top order batsmen have been doing well. Incidentally, Tendulkar considers Chepauk as one of his favourite venues in the world and going by his form, he is likely to enthrall his fans on Tuesday.

Tendulkar led from the front in the two teams' first meeting this year in Mumbai with an elegant 72 that guided Mumbai to a deserving win.

Team from

Chennai Super Kings MS Dhoni (capt & wk), R Ashwin, HK Badani, S Badrinath, GJ Bailey, L Balaji, DE Bollinger, C Ganapathy, MS Gony, ML Hayden, MEK Hussey, SB Jakati, AB Karthik, JM Kemp, JA Morkel, M Muralitharan, M Ntini, PA Patel (wk), NLTC Perera, SK Raina, T Thushara, S Tyagi, M Vijay 

Mumbai Indians SR Tendulkar (capt), AN Ahmed, DJ Bravo, S Dhawan, JP Duminy, CRD Fernando, Harbhajan Singh, ST Jayasuriya, Z Khan, DS Kulkarni, R McLaren, C Madan, I Malhotra, SL Malinga, AG Murtaza, GR Napier, AM Nayar, KA Pollard, AT Rayudu (wk), R Sathish, KS Sahabuddin, R Shukla, AP Tare (wk), SS Tiwary

Stats and trivia

• Chennai have hit the most sixes (67) but have also conceded the most sixes (55) among all IPL teams this season.
• Spinners have conceded 7.60 per over at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in this IPL but the seamers have been more expensive, leaking 9.48.
• Only four men in the current Mumbai squad - Sanath Jayasuriya, Dwayne Bravo, Harbhajan Singh and Abhishek Nayar - featured the last time these teams met in Chennai.
• The last time these teams met, at the Brabourne Stadium, even a total of 180 wasn't enough for Chennai to defend. Tendulkar and Shikhar Dhawan hit half-centuries to cut the target to size.

Match facts
Tuesday April 5, 2010 (day/night)
Start time 20:00 local (14:30 GMT)