Mumbai Vs Pune | Punjab Vs Rajasthan Live Streaming

Mumbai Vs Pune - Punjab Vs Rajashan Live Streaming

After the thrilling t20 match played yesterday at Eden Gardens between Delhi and Kolkata, the mood is all set for bang bang sixes in this year's IPL. Irfan Pathan's quickfire 40 plus in 20 balls gave Delhi a desperate win and a bad start to Kolkata. Mumbai Indians on the other hand has already begun their IPL 5 account on a winning note in the opening match against Chennai Super Kings. Now they take on Pune Warriors at 4pm IST in Mumbai. The other match scheduled today later on in the evening is Kings XI Punjab Vs Rajasthan Royals.

Match 1 - Mumbai Vs Pune

Let us first discuss about the Mumbai Vs Pune match. Mumbai's team undoubtedly looks one of the strongest outfit this year. With the likes of Sachin and Harbhajan guiding the team it is a complete no worries for Mumbai Indians. The only worry today could be the availability of Sachin as he injured his finger while facing a bouncer from Bollinger in the first match. People are eagerly awaiting a face off between Sachin and Ganguly and for that Sachin needs to play today.

Pune Warriors had a disappointing first year in the last edition and they would desperately look to erase those memories and start off this year with a new zest. To add on to the changes they have a new blue jersey unlike a black jersey last year. Let us hope this change in colour brings change in fortune for Ganguly's team.

Pune Warriors will badly miss the services of Yuvraj Singh who is recovering from cancer and is unavailable for this year's IPL. Also the absence of Clarke and Angelo Mathews would hurt the team as these two are busy with their international teams playing test cricket. Pune Warriors are yet to beat Mumbai Indians in IPL history as they lost both their matches against Mumbai last year. 

Eyes would also be set on Sourav Ganguly who has although past his best but who looks as an experienced mentor for the fresh team Pune Warriors. He will rely a lot on Uthappa, Ryder, Tamim Iqbal and for the bowling unit he has Ashish Nehra, Parnell, Rahul Sharma and Nathan McCullum. Whereas Harbhajan has surplus of resources where he can rely on Pollard, Malinga, Blizzard, Gibbs, Ojha and Richard Levi.

Match 2 - Punjab Vs Rajasthan

These are the two teams who have lost their glory in recent editions of IPL. These two teams were very dominating in the first couple of editions and then they lost the track in the next two. Rajasthan has managed to clinch the first ever IPL beating Chennai in the finals. But Punjab is yet to win an IPL title.

For a change, Shane Warne won't be playing for Rajasthan Royals and hence Dravid becomes the captain for the side. He would badly miss the services of Shane Watson for the first half of IPL 5 as Watson his busy with his international cricketing commitments in West Indies. Dravid will have a completely way of leading the team and hence he needs to set the tone from match 1.

Adam Gilchrist led Deccan Chargers to a title win in the second edition of IPL and now he leads Kings XI Punjab. Although he isn't a big threat with bat as he used to be in his golden days, but he is a man who can turn the tables on the opposition on any given day. He has been aggressive with his captaincy and he can be a threat to Rajasthan Royals today.

Rajasthan faces three strong teams on the trot after today's match. So a win here would boost their confidence helping them create upsets in the following matches. Sreesanth who was a part of Kochi will now be playing for Rajasthan this year. Also the old whine Brad Hogg would play a vital role in the spin department of Rajasthan. Dravid can use his quickest resource Shaun Tait effectively if he needs to provide some early blows to Punjab.

A surprise addition for Punjab is Azhar Mahmood who is the only Pakistani player featuring in the IPL this year. It would be an exciting factor to see his lofty shots and slower deliveries. He has a very good experience of playing this shortest format of cricket and he can come in handy for Gilchrist.

Overall two exciting matches for the cricket fans today in the Indian Premier League.