Sachin Tendulkar is always out to prove something on a cricket field though the world has already taken notice of his achievements in the last 20 years. Firstly by scoring four consecutive centuries in his last four tests, Sachin Tendulkar has given a clear message that he is till the number one Test batsman in the team which boasts of the likes of Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir and Rahul Dravid. Secondly by smashing the only double century in one dayers in a mere 147 deliveries he has sent a message to the cricketing world that he is a automatic choice even in T20 format should he desire to make himself available. Finally by blasting a 32 ball 63 against Delhi Devils at Feroz Shah Kotla on 17th March 2010 Sachin has made a statement that he is good enough to represent India in T20s but has made a sacrifice with the dual intention of prolonging his career in Tests and One dayers apart from accommodating another player in T20 version by making himself unavailable.
To begin with Sachin Tendulkar set the pace for Mumbai Indians against Delhi Devils in their second league match at Feroz Shah Kotla. Though Tiwari and Ambati Rayudu appeared more brutal muscling the bowlers all over the park, it was Sachin Tendulkar who was more brutal though his strokes appered more pleasing to the eye both to the viewers and the bowlers. The bowlers wilted under Sachin's onslaught as his half century came of a mere 23 balls and the bowlers never recovered from the shock of Sachin's onslaught which was cleverly exploited by the duo of Ambatti Rayudu and S S Tiwary. The bowlers for a change did well for Mumbai Indians, with 40 year old Sanath Jayasurya the pick of bowlers conceeding a mere 17 runs in his full quota of 4 overs, while picking 2 wickets.
Though Mumbai posted a mammoth 218 in their allotted twenty overs, there were still concerns for them. West Indians Bravo and Pollard renowned for their big hitting failed in the match. Together the duo scored a mere 19 runs in 13 deliveries in the slog overs. Considering the start given by Sachin and pace maintained by Rayudu and Tiwari Bravo and Pollard should have got much more in 13 deliveries than the 19 they got. Another factor which could have gone against Mumbai Indians was the fact that while Team Bangalore comfortably chased 200 against Team Punjab, Rajasthan Royals too came close to chasing 200 plus against Team Mumbai. One must say Team Mumbai should have actually ended up their innings with a score in excess of 240.
A big cause for concern for Mumbai has been their overseas players. One of the reason for Mumbai's poor showing in second edition of IPL has been due to the fact that their overseas players have not performed when it mattered the most. J P Duminy consistently scored runs last year but the pace at which he got the runs meant that Mumbai always reached average totals which meant that bowlers had to be defensive right from first ball of innings and that put additional pressure on Sachin the skipper. Similary Duminy could not take Mumbai home while chasing even modest totals inspite of batting right through the innings. That was the same case with Bravo who is known to be a finisher with the bat and ball. In the second edition whenever he scored with the bat he was plundered for runs with the ball, and whenever he did well with the ball, he failed miserably with the bat. Bravo too like Duminy had a good IPL in terms of stats, but like Duminy failed to perform when it mattered the most. This time around Sachin has to be very clear in communicating to the players that underperformance is not acceptable however talented a player is.
One area of strength for Mumbai Indians is the fact that they demolish most top teams comfortably and their demolition of Delhi Devils is a perfect example but one area of concern which needs to be addressed the most is the fact that they tend to lose close matches and that too at critical stages and that is what exactly happened in inaugral edition of IPL when they were on the verge of making semi finals while being in the middle of a glorious run.