IPL 7: Mumbai, Delhi look for succour

ABU DHABI: The insufferable Mumbai Indians, fraught with three straight defeats in the IPL so far, will get another opportunity on Sunday to seek a turnaround in their fortunes. Their opponents this time are the Delhi Daredevils, another side struggling to win matches except for one in four outings so far. The match could possibly be the last chance for the Rohit Sharma-led team to continue with Michael Hussey as the opener. Should the experienced Aussie fail to click once again on Sunday, his team will have no option left but to revise their entire strategy in the tournament and look for a replacement at the top of the order. The Mumbai Indians are more or less thinking on these lines. In their current set-up, nothing's been hurting the team more than Hussey's non-performance at the top of the order and Kieron Pollard not delivering with the bat and the ball. For the defending champions to get any better in the IPL this season, a lot will depend on how these two cricketers try to find the missing form and get better from here. Dropping Pollard for non-performance with the bat isn't an option for MI. The Trinidadian brings a lot to the table in terms of his bowling and fielding skills, irrespective of going wicketless and dropping a sitter in the previous game. The 38-year-old Hussey, however, is not exactly irreplaceable. The strategy, at the time of buying him in this year's auction, was to have a batsman who could provide the right impetus at the top of the order. It's been a noshow until now. As for the Daredevils, it's a wait and watch as to how the team revolves around Kevin Pietersen who's played just one match yet. On Friday, the former England batsman took his time finding feet but couldn't last long to turn around his team's dwindling fortunes. The Daredevils have bowled well, especially Shahbaz Nadeem, and have a fairly good attack - no big names though - to compensate for lack of run-gluts. However, the onus will return on the batsmen, just like it will in the Mumbai Indians camp, to deliver. The Sharjah wicket is the fastest of all three and Mumbai Indians certainly have the edge where the attacks are concerned. But the team batting better will have the upper-hand in Sunday's clash between the two strugglers.