“The Mumbai Indians might just be off the boil because they are already assured of topping the league table. However, it would be a big mistake if they rest their big guns ahead of the semifinals, because it could disrupt momentum, going into the knockout phase. They must not do anything that will break the winning habit, because decisions to rest players or give someone a break can often backfire in a must win situation,”wrote Steve Waugh in The Times of India.
“One of the many lessons I have learned during 16 years of professional cricket is that it is much easier to perform under pressure when there isn’t actually any pressure! The Mumbai Indians had qualified for the semifinals a week ago so when they needed to catch up with their desired run right having made a fairly slow start it was a lot easier for JP Duminy to hit the accelerator knowing that there really wasn’t much to lose. ... I am told that the Royal Challengers are still guaranteed a semifinal place, but funny things happen when teams get desperate massive scores, huge victory margins and wildly fluctuating run rates so I’ll wait for the last league match to be played before thinking about the semis,” Jacques Kallis wrote in The Times of India.
“On Monday we take on Mumbai Indians in our last league game..... Not only is their starting XI a quality one, their bench-strength too is good. It will be interesting to see who Mumbai play for Mondays match. It’s also tougher to get ready for a game after travelling. Either way this is KKRs last IPL at the Eden this season. Personally, this is one of my favourite grounds and I have loved it here: the fans are terrific and it’s just awesome to hear your name being chanted,” Shane Bond wrote in The Times of India.
“If we get the opportunity to do something special, in order to reach the last four, we will give it our best shot. If our match against the Mumbai Indians turns out to be a matter of statistical interest, we will still try and give our fans something to cheer about…. On the personal front, the going with the bat has not been bad. A lot of people are surprised by my fielding effort… it is a reflection of the hard work put in throughout the year. We are not that bad a team that we need to depend on others to decide our fate. But there is still a silver lining. As our team slogan says, miles to go and promises to keep,” Kolkata Knight Riders skipper, Sourav Ganguly wrote in the Hindustan Times.
"Entire team has to take responsibility. We did not play as a team. We should have batted with more responsibility. We never chased convincingly in the entire tournament. We were in positions to chase convincingly but we were not consistent. If we lose four out of five matches we do not deserve to be in semifinals," Delhi Daredevils captain Gautam Gambhir was quoted as saying by the Indian Express after their loss to the Deccan Chargers.
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