Find Me A 100 Winner / Andy Richmond / 20 April 2009 /

Sachin Tendulkar led the Mumbai Indians to victory in their first match whilst Rajasthan were humiliated in posting the lowest-ever IPL total. And things are unlikely to get any better for them in this one, says Andy Richmond.

Team News

Defending champions the Rajasthan Royals were brought crashing down to earth in the second game of this year's IPL and registered the lowest total in IPL history - 58. The trick they pulled off last year where they were certainly a team that was greater than the sum of its parts may not be so easy to do this time. Warne is not known for making knee jerk reactions and I'm sure he'll back a similar eleven to put a bad day at the office behind them. They were handed another blow this week when Shaun Tait was ruled out from joining up with them.

Mumbai are the only winners from the four teams that play on Tuesday and look to be one of the stronger and less disrupted squads in the competition. It would be no surprise to see them go again with the same side - even with useful all-rounders like Napier and McClaren waiting in the wings for their chance.

Venue, Pitch, Conditions

Same again. The second game of the day at Kingsmead and the weather if anything is expected to get worse and once again the prospect of a shortened game looms. Conditions could be difficult as the day/evening wears on and I'd take this into account with any bets in this contest.

Match Odds

Mumbai are understandably favourites in this one, given that they defeated a star-studded Chennai side in their opener and look to have a side which has all the qualities of a good T20 side - anything over [1.7] will do for me. The Royals priced at around the [2.4] marker will have to do a lot more in this game to convince me that Warne can once again work his magic.

Top Batsman

Repetitive I know, but with the prospect of the weather interfering again in this game I would be looking towards the top of both orders for a betting proposition. For Mumbai - Tendulkar looks to be the anchor around which they will build their innings so is a solid bet at around [3.75], although if you like your batting style to be more explosive Jayasuriya [(4.0)] and the interesting newcomer Nayar ([10.0]) would provide alternatives.

After their abject display first time up it's difficult to make much of a recommendation but South African captain Graeme Smith ([4.0]) would know this ground well and could take advantage of the fielding restrictions to blast early although that won't be easy against a very good Indians seam attack.

Featured Market

With the opening partnership of Tendulkar and Jayasuriya averaging 57 in the opening six overs in last year's competition I'm particularly keen to side with the combination again in the opening partnership match up, both of these pair are confident stroke makers and with the Royals opening pairing likely to be more cautious and facing a better bowling attack, get with Sachin and Sanath to provide the Mumbai boys with a solid base to attack from, anything around [1.8] in this market should be snapped up.

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