Mumbai Indians on roll

Cricketers believe in superstition that brings luck. Steve Waugh used to carry a red handkerchief in his left pocket.

Cricketers believe in superstition that brings luck. Steve Waugh used to carry a red handkerchief in his left pocket. Sunil Gavaskar always made it a point to ground his bat first before bringing his right foot into position while taking guard and Sachin Tendulkar always wears his left pad first.

Taking a leaf from the careers of these individuals or perhaps in an attempt to win their first match at home, Deccan Chargers did something similar on Sunday evening. They decided to shift into the visitors8217; dressing room and allow rivals Mumbai Indians occupy theirs.

But the change of address simply didn8217;t work. Instead, the match turned out to be another stark reminder of how one of the most highly-rated teams in the IPL succumbed yet again in the absence of team effort.

Even before the match had begun, the prospect of a Mumbai victory was looming large with talks veering around to Sanath Jayasuriya8217;s manic stroke play in the last two matches, Shaun Pollock8217;s miserly spells and the inconsistency of Gilchrist and Afridi. Deccan had a fresh roster for this match: Gibbs, Styris, Chamara Silva and Dilhara Fernando were left out. But neither the change of dressing room, nor the new-look middle-order batting worked in Hyderabad8217;s favour.

A couple of hours before the game, it was surprising to hear the local officials predicting 8220;a packed stadium.8221; Evidently, it had something to do with Sachin Tendulkar8217;s presence and the crowd had kept this date8212;May 18212;in mind. And without doubt Sunday witnessed the best turnout seen at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium so far.

Deccan won the toss and surprisingly invited Mumbai to bat first ignoring the form that Jayasuriya has been in. The left-hander walked in and walked out, giving his team an exhilarating start, scoring 36 off 15 balls, to provide a perfect launching pad. Though none of his team mates matched the Sri Lankan8217;s aggression, runs kept coming for the Mumbai team.

Mumbai managed a total of 178 and Tendulkar8217;s 23 understandably drew more cheers than Dwyane Bravo8217;s 30 or even Abhishek Nayar8217;s 38. In reply, if there was any Deccan player who tried to match his opponents for every stroke played, it was Venugopal Rao. His 58 from 38 balls took the side as close as possible to the target. To the disappointment of the crowd, however, the hosts fell short by 25 runs.

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With their sixth consecutive victory, Mumbai seem to have virtually assured themselves of a last-four berth. Deccan, for their part, should keep in mind that they need to retain Rohit Sharma and Venugopal Rao, if not anybody else, when they think of making any changes in the team for the next season.