Sachin returns, set to face off against Dhoni

The Mumbai outfit started the IPL on a poor note, without Tendulkar in the playing XI, and slid to four straight defeats before arresting the downward-going graph.

The Harbhajan Singh slapping episode of April 25 leading to the booting out of the off spinner by the IPL authorities only added to their woes.

But victories in their last three matches, including against top performers Delhi Daredevils and Rajasthan Royals, have boosted the sagging morale of the team and Tendulkar8217;s return should only add to their confidence in what is the ace batsman8217;s home ground.

The Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings, on the other hand, started in spectacular fashion before stumbling a bit only to regain poise with a fine 18-run victory over Punjab on May 10.

Both the teams seem to have settled down after an uncertain period, initially for Mumbai and after the departure of Australians Matthew Hayden and Mike Hussey for Chennai, and Wednesday8217;s clash under lights promises plenty of fire-works for the crowd.

Comeback man Laxmipathy Balaji performed brilliantly with a five-wicket haul that included the IPL8217;s first hat-trick, and his duel with two of the world8217;s most attacking batsmen 8211; Tendulkar and Sri Lankan great Sanath Jayasuriya 8211; would be worth the wait.

Veteran Jayasuriya, the Marauder from Matara, has not really exploded in full might, but only given glimpses of what could happen if he blooms fully and hopefully for the hosts it will happen in Tendulkar8217;s company.

Mumbai Indians8217; batting, overall, has not succeeded to an extent it was expected to, indicated clearly by the fact that Robin Uthappa has been their leading run-getter with 211 runs in seven ties, but without a half century to his credit.

At critical times the home team has lost well-set batsmen and this trend needs to be reversed if they are to outperform Chennai Super Kings and exact revenge for the defeat in the first leg their clash on April 23 at Chennai.

Tendulkar has said the bowlers have taken early wickets in the matches the team had won and this was the key for the turnaround in their fortunes.

Shaun Pollock, who led the side admirably in Tendulkar8217;s absence, would once again lead the attack but to the good tidings of the team Ashish Nehra seems to have struck form and also fetched the man of the match award in the last tie against Rajasthan Royals.

Mumbai8217;s spin bowling still looks a bit thin after the exit of Harbhajan and Chennai would look to take advantage of this factor when they bat.

West Indian all rounder Dwayne Bravo has done his bit in the Mumbai Indians8217; revival after joining the team late in place of the injured Lasith Malinga and he would be keen to leave this edition with a bang after playing for the franchise team on Tuesday and on May 16 against Kolkata Knight Riders.

Chennai would be pleased that homegrown talents S Badrinath and Balaji were impressive performers in the last tie, but need their openers S Vidyut and ex-New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming to fire in unison to stop Mumbai.

Suresh Raina has had a few starts while Dhoni has, expectedly, been the mainstay in the middle order. With Albie Morkel showing his abilities with both bat and ball, and the world8217;s leading Test wicket taker Muthiah Muralitharan in the ranks, Chennai have good wicket takers at their disposal when Punjab-born pacer Manpreet Singh Gony is added to the overall picture.

The teams:

Mumbai Indians: Sachin Tendulkar capt., Sanath Jayasuriya, Robin Uthappa, Dwayne Bravo, Shaun Pollock, Yogesh Takawale wk, Abhishek Nayar, Rohan Raje, Dhawal Kulkarni, Ashish Nehra, Ashwell Prince, Loots Bosman, Luke Ronchi, Dominic Thornely, Dilhara Fernando, Ajinkya Rahane, Manish Pandey, Saurabh Tiwary, Gaurav Dhiman, Pinal Shah, Rajesh Pawar, Musavir Khote, Sidharth Chitnis, Swapnil Singh, Ankeet Chavan and Vikrant Yeligati.

Chennai Super Kings: M S Dhoni capt., wk, Stephen

Fleming, Vidyut S, Suresh Raina, S Badrinath, A Morkel,

Chamara Kapugedara, M Muralitharan, M Gony, P Amarnath, L

Balaji, P Patel, M Ntini, Joginder Sharma, V Kadbe, S Anirudh,

R Ashwin, A Mukund, A Kartik, N Einstein, S Jakati, Suresh

Kumar and Sudeep Tyagi.