Mumbai Vs Bangalore a Virtual QF

Durban: Bangalore's loss on Friday against the South Australia Redbacks has given the Mumbai Indians a ray of hope to qualify for the semi-finals of the Champions League T20 and turned their game against fellow IPL side on Sunday into a virtual quarter-final clash.

With one win from three games and the last league outing on Sunday, Mumbai know that they must win this game to keep their hopes alive of making it to the last four. It definitely helps that they have a positive net run rate and a big win will only help them as the photo-finish in the race to the second semi-final spot hots up in this group and will in all probability be decided by decimals.

The Lions, who are placed fourth in the group, will eye a win against Guyana in the first game of the day. A win will put them on four points and also put them within striking distance of a semi-final berth with one game left to play. Bangalore too have two games left, but the team management will surely like to register two straight wins to wrap up a semi-final spot without any more hiccups.

Only Mumbai have Sunday's game to play and therefore, cannot afford to lose the plot now. They have paid for the price of batting and bowling inconsistently and have been stunned by less-fancied sides in two games.

The Sachin Tendulkar-led side had promised a lot with their impressive IPL season but have just failed to click as a unit here.

Except for Sri Lankan pacer Lasith Malinga, who has bagged six wickets by conceding 83 runs in the three matches, none of the Mumbai Indians bowlers have made a mark and that has been the main reason for their tough times in this tournament.

Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh have been disappointing so far. Zaheer has taken just one wicket having conceded 105 runs in the three matches, while Harbhajan has scalped two at the expense of 86 runs.

On the other hand, Royal Challengers Bangalore began the tournament with an easy nine-wicket win over Guyana with South African Jacques Kallis starring with the bat and ball. They, however, were brought down to earth with a humiliating eight-wicket loss to South Australia Redbacks on Friday.

Without Kallis, the Anil Kumble-led side failed in both batting and bowling as they were shot out for 154 and then none of their bowlers, including the captain himself and South African Dale Steyn, making much impact against the Australian side.

Desperate Mumbai in must-win situation

Durban: Stunned by two back-to-back defeats, the Sachin Tendulkar-led Mumbai Indians will be desperate to find their winning ways when they take on a low-profile Guyana in a Champions League Group B match at Durban on Thursday.

Having lost the first two games against the Lions and the Redbacks respectively owing to poor strategy and some sloppy fielding, the game against Guyana becomes a must-win encounter for the Mumbai side. Along with Guyana who got a thrashing of their life at the hands of the Royal Challengers Bangalore in their first match, Mumbai currently make the bottom of the group B and both sides would be eyeing their first win of the tournament.

What would have hurt Mumbai is that they looked in a commanding position almost right through the game against the Redbacks, but poor bowling and awful fielding at the death led to their downfall. Both Zaheer Khan and Hrabhajan Singh have failed to impose themselves on the opposition and are struggling to get the rhythm right. Sri Lankan pacer Lasith Malinga has been the impressive of the bowlers and Mumbai will be hoping that he continues his good work.

Though Mumbai lost once while chasing and once while defending, their batting looks more or less settled with scores of 176 and 180 in their two outings.

Although Sachin Tendulkar failed in the last match, he looked pretty solid in his innings of 20 runs after a breezy 62-ball 69 in the first game. Young batsman Saurabh Tiwary and Kireon Pollard played a swashbuckling innings of 44 and 36 respectively against the Redbacks and team will hope that the duo continue their impressive form against Guyana.

Guyana, who lost their campaign-opener to Bangalore by nine wickets, will find Mumbai Indians a tough nut to crack. Skipper Ramnaresh Sarwan is the only big name in their batting line-up which somehow managed to cross the 100-run mark against RCB's mighty bowling attack.

But Mumbai will surely not take Guyana for granted because the players like Christopher Barnwell and Sewnarine Chattergoon are capable of changing the equation in a matter of few overs with their smart batting.