One of the big holes in the Mumbai arsenal, Sachin Tendulkar's poor form, might not be as big a worry anymore after he hit a 31-ball 35 against T&T in the semifinal. Along the way, he also became the 16th man to score 50,000 runs in recognised cricket. "We're all thrilled for Sachin. It's good to make 50,000 runs ... maybe a few more," smiled Wright after the semis."Always pleased for players, whoever they are, when they achieve something special. We're very fortunate as a franchise to have him; it's great for us. Tomorrow is even more special for that reason - definitely."
It promises to be a super game of Twenty20 cricket. Rajasthan's has been a fairy-tale story that probably deserves a happy ending, if only for the men, led by Rahul Dravid, who have come out and given such a good account of themselves. But Mumbai have looked so, so good when they have been on song and should be, keeping everything in mind, the favourites to add the CLT20 trophy, which they also won in 2011, to the IPL title they won earlier this year.
Teams:
Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma (capt), Sachin Tendulkar, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Harbhajan Singh, Pragyan Ojha, Ambati Rayudu, Aditya Tare, Rishi Dhawan, Abu Nechim, Akshar Patel, Kieron Pollard, Dwayne Smith, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Mitchell Johnson, Glenn Maxwell.
Rajasthan Royals: Rahul Dravid (capt), Ajinkya Rahane, Stuart Binny, Sanju Samson (wk), Ashok Menaria, Dishant Yagnik, Vikramjeet Malik, Harmeet Singh, Rahul Shukla, Pravin Tambe, Shane Watson, Kusal Perera, James Faulkner, Kevon Cooper.