Of the four Indian Premier League teams in fray in the Champions League Twenty20, two are on the verge of crashing out in the group stage itself while defending champions Mumbai Indians are struggling to get their act together.
Kolkata Knight Riders and Chennai Super Kings have suffered two losses each and face a grim battle to qualify for the semi-finals from their respective groups, while Mumbai Indians were handed a heavy defeat to Highveld Lions in their opener.
Delhi Daredevils are the only team to have bucked the trend winning the only game (against Kolkata) they have played so far.
“If all the IPL teams are not playing like they do in India, the only reason could be the failure to adapt to the conditions,” believes Mumbai captain Harbhajan Singh.
“Probably, we’re taking rather long in getting used to the climate and the wickets here. Delhi Daredevils is the only IPL team which has won a game so far and that’s because they have a good bowling line-up with the likes of Morne Morkel and Umesh Yadav who can run in and bowl above 145kph.”
The star off-spinner is hopeful of a turnaround when they take on Yorkshire in Newlands on Thursday. “We have been here for some time now and hopefully we’ll play much better in the coming games than we did in our first match,” he said.
Harbhajan in fact feels the tournament in South Africa has given an equal opportunity to all teams. “It’s good for cricket,” he remarked. “The Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings are dominant when they play in their home conditions. Having a tournament here gives a chance to everyone and there are no favourites.
“The wickets are true and we have to test ourselves on these wickets to see where we stand in comparison with everyone else. It is good for the tournament and the game that no team feels it cannot win the tournament.”
Mumbai, who are placed fourth in the five-team Group B will be fancying their chances against bottom-placed Yorkshire who were handed a eight-wicket thrashing by Sydney Sixers on Sunday.
The rampaging Sixers, who top the Group B table will face their biggest test on Thursday when they take on Highveld Lions.
The Lions are unbeaten so far and are playing well as a unit which showed in both their matches. The local team is keen to extend the winning streak.
“We want to lead from the front and want other teams to take us seriously,” said Jean Symes, who was instrumental in hauling the Lions over the line against Chennai Super Kings with a 23-ball knock of 39 on Tuesday.
“We’re setting the trend now that’s the kind of cricket we want to play. In the past people saw the Lions as a team that fights from behind. This time we were out to change that perception. We wanted to lead and that’s exactly what we’re doing,” added the 25-year-old.
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