Home Advantage Gives Mumbai The Edge

Mumbai: After having experimented in their last few matches, Mumbai should go back to full strength, barring injuries against Royal Challengers at Dr DY Patil Sports Academy Mumbai.

Lasith Malinga are the two clear choices for overseas players. Dwayne Bravo hasn't been in great form, so they may give JP Duminy a look-in. Dilhara Fernando might have impressed them enough with his split-finger slower ball, but Ryan McLaren might get the nod because he is a decent batsman too.

Jacques Kallis and Manish Pandey have fizzled out after having given Bangalore some smashing starts in the first half of the tournament. Both have recently had question marks against their roles in the team, but it might be too late to replace them. They were as big a factor behind the success as they have been behind a lukewarm second half, and they will not want to be failures if they come second-best in the semi-final.

Their first match this year encounter was one-way traffic, with R Vinay Kumar and Dale Steyn slicing open Mumbai's batting, and Jacques Kallis and Manish Pandey leading the chase. But Mumbai returned the favour through an even more one-sided match, a 57-run win.

Team from

Mumbai Indians Sachin Tendulkar (capt), Saurabh Tiwary, Abhishek Nayar, Dhawal Kulkarni, Shikhar Dhawan, Harbhajan Singh, Kieron Pollard, Dwayne Bravo, Jean-Paul Duminy, Dilhara Fernando, Sanath Jayasuriya, Lasith Malinga, Graham Napier, Zaheer Khan, Ambati Rayudu, Chandan Madan, Murtaza Ali, Rajagopal Sathish, Aditya Tare, Ishan Malhotra, Rahul Shukla, Syed Sahabuddin, Ryan McLaren, Abu Nechim, Stuart Binny

Royal Challengers Anil Kumble (capt), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Abhimanyu Mithun, Virat Kohli, Rahul Dravid, Manish Pandey, Vinay Kumar, KP Appanna, Balachandra Akhil, Praveen Kumar, Jacques Kallis, Roelof van der Merwe, Dale Steyn, Mark Boucher (WK), Dillon du Preez, Eoin Morgan, Kevin Pietersen, Cameron White, Steven Smith, Ross Taylor, Sridharan Sriram, Shreevats Goswami, Robin Uthappa (WK), Pankaj Singh

Stats and trivia

• In the first half of the tournament, the opening stand of Kallis and Pandey averaged 72.6 per dismissal at a run-rate of 8.07 per over. In the second half, they have gone at 11.4 per dismissal and 5.34 an over.
• Sachin Tendulkar and Shikhar Dhawan have opened for Mumbai seven times, and their opening combination has averaged 46.43 at 8.55 per over. In the seven remaining games, Mumbai's first wicket has averaged 24.43 at 7.6 an over.
• Of the six IPL matches played at the DY Patil, three have been won by sides batting first and three by the chasing sides. The average first-innings score has been 153, and second innings 140. Quicker bowlers have enjoyed the venue more, taking 56 wickets at an average of 22.05 and economy-rate of 7.48. The corresponding stats for spinners are 19 wickets at 26.74 and 7.82.

Match facts
Wednesday April 21, 2010 (day/night)
Start time 20:00 local (14:30 GMT)