The whole of Mumbai will be praying tonight that no one else, but their beloved Little Master leads his boys out at the D Y Patil stadium after the sun goes down on Sunday evening
The whole of Mumbai will be praying tonight that no one else, but their beloved Little Master leads his boys out at the D Y Patil stadium after the sun goes down on Sunday evening.
Dilip Vengsarkar
The big question that has dominated discussions ahead of the Indian Premier League final between Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings is whether Sachin Tendulkar will be fit to play on Sunday given the injury to his right hand. There is no doubt that his absence will take the sheen out off the big game. Former India skipper Dilip Vengsarkar feels it will be a miracle if the MI skipper plays. He cited the example of a chin injury that made him miss the 1983 World Cup.
"I will be very surprised if he can play with five stitches. I had seven stitches on the chin after being hit by (Malcolm) Marshal before the World Cup and I had to miss the championship. And a chin injury does not affect your game directly, but an injury to your hand will affect your batting, fielding and bowling," said Vengsarkar.
The next big question is, who would be the best person to step into Tendulkar's shoes in the event of the Little Master's unavailability? Vengsarkar, who served as the chairman of national selectors and came up with many inspired decisions such as appointing MSu00a0 Dhoni and Anil Kumble as skippers, feels Sanath Jayasuriya is the home team's best bet as Tendulkar's replacement, both as opener and captain.
"It's not any other match. It is the final. Losing Tendulkar would be a massive blow and you need someone with experience to lift the team. There is no other contender for captaincy," said Vengsarkar.
Zaheer Khan stepped in for Tendulkar when the latter got injured in the semi-finals. But Vengsarkar feels it would not be wise to burden the left-arm pacer with extra responsibility. "Zaheer has not led any team. He's also a strike bowler and should be allowed to concentrate completely on his bowling. Why put him under pressure by thrusting extra load on him," asked Vengsarkar.
Though Jayasuriya seems to be the best candidate for replacing Tendulkar given the teams resources, the Sri Lankan's run-drought is the big concern. But the former India captain reasoned: "In Twenty20 cricket, two good overs can make the difference. He may not have got runs, but if he clicks he can win you the game. He's an explosive batsman, a proven big-match player."
To clinch the case for Jayasuriya, Vengsarkar drew attention to his usefulness with the ball: "The wicket is on the slower side, and his left-arm spin may come in handy."
CSK happy if Sachin'su00a0not playing
There's no denying the fact that Mumbai Indians have a well-balanced, formidable outfit. But it's Sachin Tendulkar at the helm that makes them a complete package. The MI skipper hasn't put a foot wrong in this IPL, as a batsman or as skipper. And, no team is more aware about how big the Tendulkar-factor is than their opponents in the final -- Chennai Super Kings. In both their league games, it was Tendulkar's efforts with the bat that determined the result.
In the first-leg at the Brabourne Stadium, Tendulkar didn't give CSK any chance as he batted right through to power MI to a comfortable win while chasing an imposing 180. In the second leg, CSK only got into the game after Tendulkar was overcome by dehydration.
The numbers tell the whole story. MI have won 11 out of their 15 games under Tendulkar's captaincy and with the bat, he's been unstoppable, being the highest scorer in the tournament with 570 runs (average 47.50, five half-centuries). "He is Sachin Tendulkar. If he is not playing, any opposition will be happy about it," said S Badrinath, who was the hero of CSK's semi-final win.
Figure trigger!
One
Theu00a0number of indian captains, who will have won the indian premier league after Sachin Tendulkar's Mumbai Indians and Mahendra Singh's Dhoni Chennai Super Kings face off in Sunday's final. The tournament was previously won by Shane Warne's Rajasthan Royals (2008) and Adam Gilchrist's Deccan Chargers (2009).
Two
Theu00a0 number of times Chennai Super Kings, which is the only team to qualify for the semi-finals in each edition of the IPL, is appearing in the final.
Three
Theu00a0 number of times the Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings have beaten each other in the IPL. The two have played each other six times -- twice in each of the three editions of the tournament.
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
