May I Help U?

The most expensive franchise of the original eight, the Mumbai Indians haven't given their fans enough to cheer about. Owned by Mukesh Ambani of Reliance Industries, Mumbai have narrowly missed out on the semi-final berth in the inaugural IPL, and been relegated to an also-ran after being among the favourites in the second season.

After a dismal start in the first season, Mumbai managed to win 6 games on the trot. They lost some very close games - both last-ball affairs - which ultimately sealed their fate. In the second season, they again lost a few close games, but did not win enough.

With their deep pockets, Mumbai have always been able to acquire the flavour of the season. Last year, they bought Jean-Paul Duminy for a staggering $950,000 while this year they've spent an obscene $1.75 mil (amount bid during the silent bid process, Pollard will only get $750,000) on the big-hitting Caribbean player, Kieron Pollard.

Players to watch out for:

Sachin Tendulkar: No matter which team Tendulkar plays for, he will always remain the player to watch out for. He just seems to be getting better with age. Tendulkar's been in superb form over the last year. He's amassed 6 centuries in tests alone and 3 scores in excess of 150 in ODIs as well. The euphoria surrounding his 200* in an ODI against South Africa has still not died down and rest assured, stadiums will be packed whenever Tendulkar is playing. Tendulkar doesn't rely on brutal shots but scores his runs at a fairly brisk pace with mostly orthodox shots and some trademark shots of his own - the upper cut and the paddle sweep to name a couple. His fitness levels are second to none and he's still a got very good throwing arm. Tendulkar has never really tasted much success as captain, whether of the Indian team or his IPL franchise. Can he script a turnaround this time?

Kieron Pollard: He's big, he's powerful and he's the quintessential T20 player that the crowd love to watch. When on song, he can pretty much hit any ball to the boundary as Moises Henriques will testify. Such has been the hype surrounding Pollard post his Champions League pyrotechnics and his IPL auction tag, that he's almost become a household name now. Pollard will be a vital cog in the Mumbai team and most likely, will be used like Yusuf Pathan - being asked to bat when big hitting is the need of the hour. Pollard is also a decent medium pace bowler. He bowls well on slowish wickets, employing his slower ball to good effect.

Strengths: Mumbai are fortunate enough to have some really big names in their ranks. A star studded line-up which includes Sanath Jayasuriya, Sachin Tendulkar, JP Duminy, Zaheer Khan...the list goes on. Jayasuriya and Tendulkar make for a devastating opening pair but the two haven't been able to have the impact that one would expect them to. JP Duminy's current form has been disastrous but he was brilliant last year. He showed he was capable of playing the sheet anchor role as well as hitting out in the last few overs. His batting at No.3 and 4 was exemplary. Mumbai also have a good bunch of all-rounders in Abishek Nayar and Dwayne Bravo, but need to ensure that they extract consistent performances from their big players.

Weaknesses: Barring Zaheer Khan, Mumbai's bowling attack doesn't look too threatening. Sure, there is Harbhajan but he hasn't been in the best of form of late. Malinga's been good, but only in patches. The onus is on the senior players to perform this time around. Mumbai have also got some way to go as far as their fielding is concerned. They've dropped some vital catches which have cost them games.

Its quite strange that a team from Mumbai - a city known to produce some of India's best cricketing talent - has failed to do well in the IPL. Mumbai have almost never come out the winner in tense games and that's one thing they must look to rectify this season. They also need to find a settled team combination.

Key Players' Timelines:

Players	Available from	No. of matches they will play
Kieron Pollard	25th March	13 (will miss 1)