Mr Cricket: Chennai Super Kings v Mumbai Indians

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IPL -Chennai Super Kings v Mumbai Indians

Both of these teams are loaded with gun batsmen but we think the spin battle between Muttiah Muralidaran (Chennai) and Harbahajan Singh (Mumbai) will have a large say in deciding this one. As you probably know by now, we think spinners can be the key in these matches and these two are the finest international spinners going around in the world. It will be a huge moment when Harbahajan goes to the top of his run-up if Matthew Hayden (Chennai) is at the other end. It was only a few months ago that Hayden called Harbhajan an "obnoxious little weed'' and there is no love lost between the pair. Whether Muralidaran or Harbahajan has the bigger impact in this match will be a huge key because a few quiet overs from spinners can win the day. Fast bowlers are likely to go for plenty here - with the pitch in Chennai traditionally being a batsman's paradise - so the variety of spin will be even more important.

Mumbai go into this match as one of three IPL teams not to have won a match while Chennai got the chocolates in their only encounter. Mumbai looks like they could again be without Sachin Tendulkar which is a big blow. However we saw enough in their loss to Bangalore to suggest they are well over the odds here and a great chance of springing an upset. We think their probable bowling attack of Ashish Nehra, Shaun Pollock, Sanath Jayasuriya and Harbahajan is well balanced and can be one of the more potent strike forces in the competition. And their batting - even without Tendulkar - looks strong. They boast Australian Luke Ronchi, who has the fastest Australian domestic one-day century to his name, along with the explosive Jayasuriya, the talented Robin Uthappa along with lusty hitters like Pollock and Dwayne Bravo.

It's fair to say the other mob has an ace lineup too - Hayden, Mike Hussey, MS Dhoni and Jacob Oram - but we don't think there is nearly as much between these two teams as the betting markets suggest. And don't forget, results from the IPL have already shown that no team is down for too long and no team is up for too long. Surprises are the norm rather than the exception. We like the underdogs here - get on Mumbai for 1 unit at $2.50 with Betfair or the TAB. We can smell an upset.

JUMP ON JACOB

At some stage this tournament, New Zealander Jacob Oram (Chennai) is going to blast off. We have watched him play some of the most exhilarating one-day cameos of all-time and it's only a matter of time before he hits a supercharged IPL knock. Even in a batting order containing Hayden, Hussey and Dhoni we think Oram can shine brightly coming in at No.6. The tall-power-packed Kiwi will come off this tournament and we'd like to have a small bet on him to be Chennai's topscorer against Mumbai. You can get $8.50 on Oram on bet365 which is great odds, we'll just stake 0.25 units on this one.

RONCHI RULES

So far, we have only got a tantalising glimpse of the potential of West Australian Luke Ronchi. The 27-year-old keeper-batsman hammered the fastest hundred in Australian domestic one-day history last summer - a 56-ball century against New South Wales. He is made to order for this form of cricket - where he boasts a strike-rate of 170. Likely to open for Mumbai, or at least bat in the top order, he is a top chance of being their top runscorer. You can get $6.50 on Ronchi to be high-bat for Mumbai with either bet365 or paddypower. Again we'll just stake 0.25 units. You will get a good sight for this bet and it looks good value especially when you consider Tendulkar, at the time of writing, is listed in the high-bat markets and is a doubtful starter.