IPL 2012 Live: Pune Warriors v Mumbai Indians Preview

Pune Warriors face off with Mumbai Indians in the fifth season of the Indian Premier League on Thursday. The two teams opened the season’s campaign with a meeting against each other when Pune Warriors came out on top by 28 runs.

Three consecutive defeats have, however, left Pune Warriors precariously placed in seventh spot. They have only four wins from ten matches and need a win desperately to stay in the hunt for the semi-finals. They lost consecutive matches to Deccan Chargers, making them the only side to lose to Chargers this season.

Sourav Ganguly, the captain, needs to revisit his plans as the bowlers have found it difficult to stem the flow of runs. Ashish Nehra, their replied upon weapon, with Ganguly yielded 50 runs from two overs to tilt the favor decidedly in the opposition’s favor. Wayne Parnell has done well and will be the go-to man for Ganguly.

Michael Clarke made an impressive IPL debut and will look to make a stronger impression against Mumbai Indians.

Mumbai Indians, the visitors, have won five of their nine matches that leaves them placed third on the points table. In their last match, they outdid Deccan Chargers comfortably as they chased down a platry total of 100 with 11 balls to spare.

Lasith Malinga and Rohit Sharma will yet again be their key players after both showed good form in the last match. Malinga picked up four wickets in his most impressive showing since returning from injury. Injuries have however affected the team otherwise as Kieron Pollard is expected to sit out yet again after missing the last match.

Sachin Tendulkar, in the meanwhile, will be hoping to continue impressing on the cricket field after earning a seat in the parliament due to his excellence in the field of cricket.

The match will be played in Pune, starting at 8.00pm local time.