Confident of making final, says Harbhajan Singh

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Mumbai Indians have had mixed results at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium so far.

After losing their first league game of the CL T20 to New South Wales in a low-scoring match, Mumbai Indians bounced back with an unconvincing-yet-significant win over hosts CSK in the next.

Lined up to face Somerset in the second semi-final on Saturday, Mumbai Indians coach Shaun Pollock exuded confidence that his team is well-equipped to reach the summit clash.

“Our game against New South Wales was a tough one. We’ve played two games here and know the conditions well. At the same time, we need to adjust on the match day. We don’t know how the pitch is going to play until we see how the first couple of deliveries behave,” he said.

On their semi-final opponents, Pollock noted: “We have a plan against each of their batsmen and we are hopeful of pulling it off. Somerset have played through the qualifying rounds of the tournament, so we have a lot of footage. They have quality at the top of the order; Craig Kieswetter is a fantastic batsman. I also know Roleof van der Merwe’s game well.”

The immediate problem Mumbai Indians would love to address is the failure of their top-order to deliver consistently. “I am looking at a glass that is half full. The batting unit, definitely, has not played to its potential so far. I am sure they will come to the party at the right time,” he stated.

Pollock believes skipper Harbhajan Singh will let his doubters eat their words with a good show.

“Harbhajan has been calm and focused on the job ahead. He is ready to take advice from every player and has also been keen to know what the coaching staff has to offer. A lot of credit for our success goes to Harbhajan the captain,” he said.

The former South African all-rounder ruled out too much shuffling during the crunch game. “I don’t think a knockout game is the time to experiment. The key in this format is to have your best batsmen spending maximum time at the crease,” he added.