Mumbai Indians V Southern Express: CLT20 Date, Live Stream, TV Info, Preview

After both the Mumbai Indians and the Southern Express lost their opening games of the Champions League Twenty20 qualifying stage, this clash has become a must-win affair.

Of course, on paper, the star-studded IPL giants would be expected to crush their little-known Sri Lankan opponents, but a surprise defeat to the Lahore Lions means the pressure is truly on.

Venue: Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium, Raipur, India

Date: Sunday, Sept. 14, 2014

Start time: 8 p.m. local time, 3:30 p.m. BST

Weather: According to Weather.com, a mix of sunshine and clouds will be in place with the temperature dropping as the evening progresses.

Live stream/TV Info: The match is scheduled to be broadcast live on Eurosport in the UK and Star Sports in South Asia. More TV info here.

Preview

Both of these sides suffered a blow in terms of personnel before the competition even got underway, but their two defeats are an even bigger blow in terms of qualifying for the main phase.

Mumbai's regular skipper, Rohit Sharma, was ruled out with injury pre-tournament, meaning Kieron Pollard took the ropes. But the 27-year-old could do little about their comprehensive loss to the Pakistani T20 champions.

Posting a paltry 135 from their allotted 20 overs, despite the best efforts of their spinners and Praveen Kumar, they couldn't put enough pressure on the Lions' high-quality line-up, allowing them to ease home with eight balls to spare.

But it doesn't take rocket science to figure out what went wrong. Quite simply, a top six that includes the likes of Mike Hussey, Lendl Simmons, Ambati Rayudu and Pollard has to score more than 81 runs from nearly 16 overs.

Conversely, Southern Express, who could have done with the experienced Tillakaratne Dilshan in their ranks—the unothodox batsman pulled out of the tournament due to "personal reasons," manager Shane Fernando told reporters—need to bowl better.

Having scored a plausible 92 runs from 10 overs in a rain-reduced game against New Zealand's Northern Districts, their opponents milked loose overs from Seekkuge Prasanna and Danushka Gunathilaka to claim a crucial victory.

Positively, their batsmen looked good, with a fluid 37 from Kusal Perera particularly impressive, and if Mumbai take them lightly, a testing score could be on the cards.

A major subplot to this game is that Lasith Malinga will be lining up for his IPL paymasters against the club he plays for when in Sri Lanka.

T20 form (latest left to right)

Mumbai Indians: LWWWW

Southern Express: WWNNL

Squads

Mumbai Indians (from): Kieron Pollard (capt), Harbhajan Singh, Ambati Rayudu, Pragyan Ojha, Praveen Kumar, Aditya Tare, Jalaj Saxena, Jasprit Bumrah, Shreyas Gopal, Mike Hussey, Kieron Pollard, Corey Anderson, Lasith Malinga, Marchant De Lange, Lendl Simmons.

Southern Express (from): Jehan Mubarak (capt), Kusal Janith Perera (wk), Danushka Gunathilaka, Angelo Perera, Niroshan Dickwella, Dilruwan Perera, Prasanna Seekkuge, Ishan Jayaratne, Farveez Maharoof, Kasun Madushanka, Yashoda Lanka, Charith Jayampathi, Sachith Pathirana, Sandaken Lakshen. 

Players to Watch

Mumbai Indians

Lendl Simmons comes into this tournament in red-hot form having finished as the second-highest run scorer in the recent Caribbean Premier League. While his strike rate of just over 100 doesn't indicate an overly explosive approach, his runs provided the foundation on which the rest of the side can play around more expansively. Exactly what the Indians need.

Southern Express

Kusal Perera has been compared to Sanath Jayasuriya on numerous occasions, but, for the most part, the prodigal son has struggled to live up to the master. However, there have been glimpses of the 25-year-old's ability, as evidenced by his 20-ball knock against Northern Districts, which included seven boundaries. Express need the powerful left-hander to fire if they are to topple Mumbai.

Prediction

It is hard to imagine the star-studded Mumbai Indians crashing out before the tournament has properly begun, and their players will be nervous. But surely they have too much star quality and ability to lose another game to a lesser-skilled opponent?