Royals, MI in do-or-die fight for IPL 7 playoffs

MUMBAI: Almost a month back, this scenario was impossible to imagine. When the first leg of IPL 7 concluded in the UAE on April 30, the Rajasthan Royals were sitting reasonably pretty, having won three of their five games, while the defending champions Mumbai Indians were the butt of all jokes, having lost five matches on the trot.
Who would have thought then that 25 days later MI would still stay alive, and be locked in a do-ordie battle with the Rajasthan Royals in the comfortable, familiar environment of the Wankhede Stadium?
On Sunday night, MI have the chance to pull it off against Royals and sneak into the playoffs.
Going by MI's awesome record at home - they lost just one out of the 11 games they have played at the Wankhede - they have every reason to believe they are within a 'handshake' distance of a playoff spot. When you put that in the context of the worst possible start any team could endure - they lost players to injuries too - this would be nothing short of a miracle.
Their incredible resurgence (six wins against two losses in the India leg), which came at a time when their best bowler, Sri Lankan ace Lasith Malinga, had left for national duty to England, owes much to finally discovering a fabulous opening pair and a fading spinner showing glimpses of vintage stuff.
Lendl Simmons' arrival has coincided with MI's turnaround for a reason - the Caribbean opener has logged scores of 38, 68, 12, 62, 100* and 35 to accumulate 315 runs in six games @63.00.
Together with veteran Aussie Michael Hussey, who has struck a couple of halfcenturies after being recalled post his axing in the UAE leg due to a string of low scores, Simmons has forged a surprisingly lethal opening stand.
The pair has put on 120, 68 and 87 since coming together, with the West Indian even having smashed the lone hundred in IPL 7 so far. Their consistency has helped take the pressure off skipper Rohit Sharma and Kieron Pollard, who can focus on doing what they are best at - go for the jugular in the end.
In bowling, MI would be pleased with how the experienced Harbhajan seems to be re-discovering his mojo with every game.
The 33-year-old is looking at his menacing best again, confusing the batsmen whether to go forward or on backfoot against him. It helps that he is hard to score off as well. Youngsters Jasprit Bumrah (seamer) and Shreyas Gopal (leggie) have stood out too.