SITTING pretty at the top of the table, the in-form Mumbai Indians should have it easy against Deccan Chargers during their home game at the Brabourne Stadium tonight
SITTING pretty at the top of the table, the in-form Mumbai Indians should have it easy against Deccan Chargers during their home game at the Brabourne Stadium tonight.
MUST BE QUICK TODAY: Malinga during nets at Brabourne Stadium
yesterday. PIC/ATUL KAMBLE
However, their skipper Sachin Tendulkar will be pressurised for another reason. He will have to be on his toes all the time during his team's fielding as another over-rate penalty will result in one-match ban for the Mumbai champion and another hefty fine for the entire team.
The MI skipper has already been penalised twice for failing to get his bowlers finish their overs in time.
Actually, most of the teams are struggling to complete their overs in time. Gautam Gambhir, M S Dhoni and Kumar Sangakkara have also been slapped with fines for the failure of their sides to complete their overs on time.
Kings XI Punjab emerged as a repeat offender and as a result, captain Sangakkara was handed a one-match ban. He thus missed the game against Mumbai on Tuesday.
MI's director of cricket T Sekar said there was no option, but for the captains to pull up their socks and manage the over-rate within the stipulated time.
In fact, MI will be tenterhooks for the rest of the tournament. If they lag behind in over-rate in any of the match, then Tendulkar will miss the subsequent game. Missing him in the semi-final or the final will be their
worst fear.
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