By IANS,
Mumbai : With the absence of Harbhajan Singh, Mumbai Indians captain Sachin Tendulkar said he was confident that veteran Sri Lankan Sanath Jayasuriya would fill the gap, continuing to provide his team the much needed thrust in the spin department in their key clash against Chennai Super Kings at the Wamkhede Stadium here Wednesday.
“Sanath will be a key bowler for us tomorrow. In the last three matches that we won, our seam attack did a great job, while Sanath got important breakthroughs in the match against Kolkatta. I expect him to continue in the same manner,” said Tendulkar here Tuesday.
Tendulkar also felt that the IPL picture was now clearer and he and his team knew now which teams were the sides to defeat and after missing out seven matches for his team he was raring to get back into action.
“It’s all a question of striking the right momentum. Some teams began well then slumped, while some rose after the initial slump. We now know which teams are in contention for the semis and those are the teams we have to beat,” said Tendulkar, referring to the points table, which has Rajasthan Royals and Punjab King’s XI in a strong position and most likely to reach the last four stage.
When queried about who would be the biggest threat from the opposition, Tendulkar said it was not only about one player – Mahendra Dhoni – but players like S. Badrinath and Albie Morkel, who have been performing well for Chennai.
On his own form and whether he would be able to cope with the rigours of Twenty20 cricket, Tendulkar said he had played a few local matches of this version and was not too worried about adapting to it.
He also said that he was physically feeling much better and all the discomfort he was feeling had gone.