29 May,2014 07:48 AM IST | | Dhananjay Roy
Diaries from the Mumbai Indians vs Chennai Super Kings Eliminator clash
Anil Kumble
When Mumbai Indians were struggling to find their bearings in the first leg of IPL-7 in the United Arab Emirates last month, critics were blaming the heavy duty support staff they possessed.
Anil Kumble
But since they got going in the Indian leg from the beginning of May, everyone has been praising their role in the set up.
The jury is still out on the exact nature of their contribution, but it's not difficult to see why MI players hold the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Anil Kumble, Jonty Rhodes and John Wright in such high esteem.
Kumble, the mentor of the team, was the first to arrive at the CCI yesterday - a good hour-and-a-half before the start of play - and the great leg-spinner wasted little time before walking out and having a good look at the pitch. Surely, skipper Rohit Sharma would have taken note of his observations.
Two India captains in same team!
It's not very often that you have two current captains of the Indian team playing alongside in the same game. But that's exactly how things turned out in the MI-CSK clash yesterday.
The national selectors picked Suresh Raina to lead the side in the three-match series against Bangladesh while regular skipper MS Dhoni would be back in the hot seat for the England series.
Flag, T-shirt sellers do brisk business
The general elections which drew to a close in the middle of May took some sheen of this year's IPL, but fans have embraced the closing stages of the competition with glee.
Just like the turnout at the Wankhede on Sunday evening, many fans could be seen bargaining with sellers of T-shirts, flags and masks on the roads leading to the Brabourne Stadium ahead of the MI-CSK clash.
The T-shirts sold for a cool Rs 250 upwards while the flags were being picked up for any thing above Rs 50.
