The Chennai Super Kings will take on the Mumbai Indians in first match of Saturday at Port Elizabeth. This match assumes must-win proportions for at least Mumbai, if they want to get into the semi-final, where as Chennai will love to book their semi-final berth with a win here.
 
Mumbai Indians (5/4 at Bet365 to beat Chennai) were handed a very narrow loss by the Rajasthan Royals, and on more occasions than not, they should have sealed the encounter. On the other hand Chennai Super Kings (8/11 at Stan James to win the match) had collapsed to less than 130 in the match against the Royal Challengers, despite a knock of 68 by Mathew Hayden to lose the match in the last over. Coming off such heart-wrenching losses, both teams will need to put their best foot forward and get the better of each other.
 
Mumbai seemed to have gone into the game against Rajasthan Royals with tactics that were very strange to say the least. The batting line-up was shuffled such that a Yogesh Takawale (6/1 at 888Sport to be top scorer) came in to open the batting, and Sachin Tendulkar (7/2 at Paddy Power to be top  Mumbai batsman) himself batted at the number five position. Sanath Jayasuriya and J.P. Duminy were all pushed down the order and in the end, the collapse had been inevitable.
 
Mumbai probably needs to get back to the basics and try and resurrect their batting order in the first place. Tendulkar needs to get back to the top, and so should Sanath Jayasuriya (4/1 at Paddy Power to be top Mumbai scorer). It is imperative that none of the lower-order batsmen get to the number three slot, and if a batsman with the ability to clear the fence is needed, Dwayne Bravo (9/2 at Bet365 to be top Mumbai batsman) gets his chance at number three.
 
I do not think Duminy (4/1 at Ladbrokes to be the highest Mumbai scorer) in his current form, should fail again, and could be the man to look out for.
 
From Chennai’s perspective, Mathew Hayden (5/2 at Coral to be top Chennai batsman) continues to impress with his broad bat, and without Zaheer Khan (9/2 at Stan James to be most economic bowler), it may just be a trifle difficult to get past his blade. Suresh Raina (4/1 at Ladbrokes to be top Chennai batsman), like Duminy, hasn’t had too many failures in this tournament, and he could continue to give Hayden a run for his money for the orange cap. M.S. Dhoni (11/2 at Sky Bet to top-score the Chennai team) has begun to promote himself up the order more consistently, and thus improves his chances of top-scoring for Chennai.
 
Muthiah Muralitharan (4/1 at Stan James to be most economic bowler) continues to be a threat, though the battle between Tendulkar and the off-spinner will be one, of excitement and intrigue. However, the Mumbai Indians will need to be vary of the left-arm spin of Shadab Jakati, a virtually unknown quantity so far.
 
Tips:
Favourites: Chennai Super Kings (8/11 at Stan James)
Top Mumbai batsman: J.P.Duminy (4/1 at Ladbrokes)
Top Chennai batsman: Suresh Raina (4/1 at Ladbrokes)
Most economic bowler: Lasith Malinga (10/3 at Stan James)