Mumbai Indians will look to make full use of their second shot at making the IPL final, but with Rajasthan Royals equally determined to reach the showpiece clash against all odds, the Qualifier 2 of IPL 2012 at the Eden Gardens promises to be a thriller.
The Rajasthan Royals were impressive in their win over the Sunrisers Hyderabad, finding a way with their backs to the wall, thanks largely to a brilliant unbeaten half-century from Brad Hodge.
The Mumbai Indians, on the other hand, were thoroughly outplayed by Chennai Super Kings in Qualifier 1 and will need to pull up their socks and put in a better bowling and batting performance against the Rajasthan Royals.
"I guess for me it's just like any other match, where I just go out there and get the work done in practice and perform in the game," Mumbai Indians opener Dwayne Smith, who made a quickfire half-century against CSK, said.
"I don't try to rate the game bigger than what it is. We just have to be confident and work together to turn in a good performance again."
The Mumbai Indians missed the services of Sachin Tendulkar in the last game, while Ricky Ponting again chose to sit out the match, where in hindsight his leadership skills might have been crucial against CSK.
Smith, though, believes his side just had a bad game overall, while revealing Tendulkar was likely to be passed fit after missing the last few matches with a tendon injury to his wrist.
"You can't say that you missed anyone because they weren't playing in the game," the West Indian added. "We had a good XI there, we fell short and stumbled a bit.
"We knew that we had another game also (after losing to CSK). I'm sure the guys know what to do now.
"He (Tendulkar) has been recovering. So hopefully, he will be in tomorrow (Friday)."
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