By IANS,
Mumbai : Interest will revolve around the return of Sachin Tendulkar and whether the master batsman can explode into form after sitting out seven games when the Mumbai Indians take on the Chennai Super Kings under lights in the Indian Premier League (IPL) at the Wankhede Stadium Wednesday.
The protracted period of rest has helped the Mumbai Indians captain recover fully from his groin injury and his return should further lift the team, which has rallied admirably under Shaun Pollock after a poor start to record three wins on trot. Tendulkar himself will be keen to get back into the thick of things and stamp his authority on the league, which has been throwing up unlikely heroes.
Lying in sixth position currently, Mumbai Indians need to carry on their winning momentum when they take on Chennai in their critical home match. Even though the Mumbai Indians’ batting has not really clicked, excellent bowling and sharp fielding has seen them through and it may just take the presence of the iconic Tendulkar to get the likes of Sanath Jayasuriya and Robin Uthappa firing on all cylinders.
But the big names in batting need to consolidate their innings to reverse the trend of losing well-set batsmen at crucial junctures if Mumbai Indians hope to set the record straight after their first leg defeat to Chennai
Chennai, on the other hand, began their IPL campaign in brilliant fashion under the leadership of Mahendra Singh Dhoni and though they faltered a bit, they should currently be on a high after their 18-run win over Yuvraj Singh’s Punjab.
Spotlight will also be on Laxmipathy Balaji, who has marked his return to the big league of cricket with a five-wicket haul that included IPL’s first hat-trick. Balaji may well cement his comeback if he manages to repeat his performance against the likes of Tendulkar, Jayasuriya and Uthappa.