After a close encounter that culminated into a win against the Kolkata Knight Riders, the Mumbai Indians are a buoyant lot. The slow East London Pitch did not encourage opulence but Jean-Paul Duminy displayed special skills in the art of batting to help the Mumbai Indians post a defendable score, and defend it.
Duminy looks a very composed individual, on and off the field. He is calm and collected, and his equanimity reflects in his batting. He seems to be ahead of the game. His performances have given Coach Pollock reason to believe that the team can bat around him and Tendulkar.
As the carnival moves to Johannesburg to play the Royal Challengers Bangalore who are up for it after their two wins, the Mumbai Indians are aware that winning is a habit they do not want to trade. Coaches Pollock, Rhodes and Amre, with the every efficient Doug Watson, have reiterated the art of winning to the MI boys and complacency is the last thing on their minds.
The tournament is opening up, and so are the team standings. The teams that are resilient will slowly emerge to the top but every win will have a say in this script – a script that is different from the flat wickets in India, or the dashers who are ‘flat wicket bullies’ in the sub-continent. The non-international Indians players hold the key to a team’s success, and that has not happened for most teams.
The first six overs in the power play design the script to a team’s advantage and the writers know that. The critical thing is, can teams execute plans, and innovate them if the original plan misfires? The first mover advantage, needless to say, provides the cutting edge!
