Humdinger on cards as MI takes on RCB in 1st IPL semi-final

Having made to the last four stage in three attempts Mumbai Indians MI will be banking on skipper Sachin Tendulkars sensational form and home advantage against last years finalist Royal Challengers Bangalore RCB in the first IPL semifinal here The Mumbai team not only has an extra advantage in home support but also a leader in Tendulkar who has been in prime form in the tournament leads the rungetters chart Tendulkar by and large has been the fulcrum around which the Mumbai batting has revolved With 561 runs with five half centuries and a strike rate in excess of 136 the master batsman has led the team from the front Mumbai would again be depending on the start provided by orange capholder Tendulkar They rested some key players including their captain for the inconsequential last league fixture against Kolkata Knight Riders last night and promptly slid to a huge defeat Tendulkar however has lacked a good opening partner with veteran Sri Lankan Sanath Jayasuriya lacking confidence and Shikhar Dhawan being inconsistent Ryan McLaren was tried out against Bangalore and the experiment clicked with the allrounder making 40 and Mumbai would be tempted to try it out again in this game Mumbai youngsters have by and large provided good support with the duo of Saurabh Tiwary and Ambati Rayudu accumulating over 360 runs so far in the tournament South African J P Duminy after being drafted into the side in the last few matches and Kieron Pollard has been a key figure in the Mumbai middle order and to add to it feisty Harbhajan Singh has proved more than handy with the long handle If batting has been their cornerstone the allround effort in the bowling and fielding department has been the highlight of their successful IPL III campaign Harbhajan 15 wickets Zaheer Khan 14 and deathbowling specialist Lasith Malinga 13 have done superbly both in terms of penetration as well as in economy while Pollard 11 too has chipped in nicely The fielding too has been brilliant thanks mainly to the efforts put in by South Africa great Jonty Rhodes who is the fielding coach of the outfit Bangalore on the other hand has slight edge in terms of experience with their array of battlehardened international veterans in captain Anil Kumble tournaments secondmost rungetter Jacques Kallis and veteran Rahul Dravid With the likes of Manish Pandey Kallis Robin Uthappa Virat Kohli Ross Taylor and Kevin Pietersen up its rank Bangalore boats of a formidable batting lineup Apart from Kallis who has aggregated 542 runs with six fifties at a strike rate of close to 120 it has been Uthappas pyrotechnics that come to the sides rescue on more than one occasion Bangalores bowling department meanwhile rests mainly on the shoulders on Kumble 12 wickets pace spearhead Dale Steyn 12 and Kallis 11 with Praveen Kumar 8 contributing at crucial times even though he has been expensive The match also provides Kumble and his men a revenge opportunity as Bangalore playing at home ground lost by 57 runs to Mumbai in their last encounter But Kumble would be drawing heart from the fact that their previous visit to Mumbai when they played at the Brabourne Stadium was a successful one as the bowling clicked superbly to restrict the home team to 151 and overhauled the target with five wickets in hand The winners of this contest would meet the victorious side of the second semifinal to be held on April 22 between holders Deccan Chargers and Chennai Super Kings at the same Navi Mumbai venue in the summit clash on April 25u00a0