Sachin Tendulkar, who turned 39 on Tuesday, cuts a birthday cake, in Mohali. Yuvraj Singh wished The Master on Twitter, “Dear Sachin, many happy returns of the day. Wishing you and your family great health and happiness.” Sachin, on his part, thanked everyone for wishing him. “My dear friends, thanks a lot for all the good wishes on my birthday. Really appreciate each and every message from the bottom of my heart,” he tweeted

Mohali: Mumbai Indians will be keen to get their IPL-V campaign back on track when they face an upbeat Kings XI Punjab, here, on Wednesday.

It will be payback time for Harbhajan Singh-led Mumbai Indians who were shocked by one of the weakest teams in the competition and that too on their home turf. Sachin Tendulkar may have scored just 23 against KXIP on Sunday but his presence at the top order gives the much-needed stability required.

The batting legend, who had missed few games after getting hit on his finger in the opening game on April 4, was involved in a 51-run opening stand with New Zealander James Franklin before the maestro was run out misjudging a non-existing second run.

Earlier, after Tendulkar’s exit, MI had tried different combinations in the four matches, but only 37 runs were produced for the opening wicket.

Despite Franklin’s blistering knock of 79 off 51 balls, MI failed to defend 163, with KXIP’s Aussie import Shaun Marsh striking form scoring unbeaten 68 of just 40 balls. Impressive bowling by Parvinder Awana and India discard Piyush Chawla also helped KXIP. MI’s key batsmen Rohit Sharma, Kieron Pollard and Ambati Rayudu have been inconsistent. In Sunday’s match, Rohit (2) was out caught in 10th over playing an irresponsible shot off Awana when he had faced just five balls and his team needed him to stay on.

Mumbai’s bowling department has been somewhat depleted with the absence of Sri Lankan pacer Lasith Malinga, who is suffering from back pain. But it’s still better than their batting with Munaf Patel and Pragyan Ojha doing a good job.

MI skipper Harbhajan has bagged just one wicket in six matches in the present competition, conceding 135 runs and that is definitely a cause for worry.

It will also be interesting to see whether the Punjab player will get some support from the crowds at PCA stadium when he comes to bat or bowl. Hoping that they will do better at Mohali, Harbhajan feels it was the fielding that took away the previous game from them.

“We had runs on the board, but fielding was the difference between the two teams. They fielded brilliantly and stopped about 15-20 odd runs. Had we fielded as well as they did, we would have been on the winning side,” said Harbhajan.

He said that the team would regroup again. “We need to keep our plans simple… Fielding needs to be lifted, this is an area where we can do better. Hopefully, we will do well in the next game,” he said. Aussie pacer Mitchell Johnson is expected to join the MI squad on Tuesday. (PTI)