By Sreelata S. Yellamrazu
The Mumbai Indians will take on the strong South Australian Redbacks in today’s encounter in the Champions League Twenty20 2010. But a win for the Mumbai Indians is not only imperative for their cause but in the larger interests of the tournament itself.
The CL T20, as it is popularly abbreviated, is a showcase event, not only for the domestic champions from several Test playing nations but for the cricketers themselves in this one of a kind exhibition of their skills and talent. For some like Kieron Pollard, it could be their big ticket into cricket stardom, big bucks, and frequent flyer miles.
But the Champions League Twenty20 essentially takes off from the Indian Premier League, which means that a majority of the fan base comes from those that have been keen followers of the domestic Twenty20 tournament in India. For the fan base to maintain that minimum factor, it would be that the onus is greater on the three IPL teams as opposed to the others to ensure that the CL T20 is even a modest success.
The first edition of the Champions League Twenty20 2009 ( the 2008 Champions League Twenty20 was cancelled in the aftermath of the 26/11 terror attack in Mumbai) saw the three IPL teams – Chennai, Hyderbad and Bangalore – quit without making a real dent to the tournament. But the competition was sustained in a cricket crazy country like India with other popular foreign teams capturing the imagination such as Trinidad and Tobago. But many believe this year’s competition will be better from the Indian representatives and thus far, both, the Chennai Super Kings and the Royal Challengers Bangalore, have made promising starts.
The first edition of the Champions League Twenty20 2009 ( the 2008 Champions League Twenty20 was cancelled in the aftermath of the 26/11 terror attack in Mumbai) saw the three IPL teams – Chennai, Hyderbad and Bangalore – quit without making a real dent to the tournament. But the competition was sustained in a cricket crazy country like India with other popular foreign teams capturing the imagination such as Trinidad and Tobago. But many believe this year’s competition will be better from the Indian representatives and thus far, both, the Chennai Super Kings and the Royal Challengers Bangalore, have made promising starts.
Rather surprisingly, the Highveld Lions pulled a fast one on the Mumbai Indians in the first encounter of the 2010 edition even though the star studded MI line up was expected to test the South African franchisee. On the other hand, it has been a breeze for the CSK, after they got over their initial batting hiccup, to get past the clueless Central Districts Stags from New Zealand while RCB walked all over Guyana in their respective first clash.
The pressure has suddenly shifted to the Mumbai Indians with their high profile players to make their mark on the tournament, and for that, they have a tougher proposition to contend with because the Redbacks have chewed and spit the Highveld Lions, bringing them down from the high they experienced earlier when they thumped the MI team. But winning becomes imperative in the group format because going down by two losses would virtually be a deal breaker that Mumbai cannot afford and neither can its players who will have to make a larger effort if they are to impress their franchisee about their retention or rebid going into the IPL 4 player auctions.
The Champions League Twenty20 comes at an awkward time in the international calendar because not only are most of the southern hemisphere teams in the cricket’s off season in hibernation but also, in the wake of the match fixing scandal, it has rather overshadowed the desperate hype that has been forced down fans without the necessary results. A loss for Mumbai would only dent those numbers further. But Durban will not be easy.
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