We have to be at the top of our game: Lehmann.......

Punjab will be taking on an upbeat Mumbai side at the Wankhede stadium and the hosts will be rearing to go after their thumping 58-run win against Bangalore a couple of days back. Punjab coach Darren Lehmann said his team will have to be at the top of their game if they are to defeat a "quality" Mumbai side. 

"Mumbai are a quality side and they have played really well in the tournament so far. We have to be at the top of our game to beat them and we have to have some good man-of-the-match performances." 

While mentioning that Mumbai will be a dangerous team at home, Lehmann said the wicket at the Wankhede will assist his team's bowlers, who according to him are the side's main strength. 

"We saw the Mumbai-Bangalore game and felt it was a good T20 wicket. Obviously it has a lot of bounce and carry in it. Mumbai are a dangerous side to play at home and we will have to bowl well against them. Our strength is our bowling, so I expect us to bowl well." 

Punjab's batting has been a cause for worry but the coach says he is impressed with the batters in the side, especially after their performance against Kolkata in their previous match when they put up a total of 149. 

"Our batting has been a bit of a worry. But I have been impressed with the batting in the last few games. We played well against Kolkata in the previous game and got to 149 which we felt was defendable on that surface." 

Adam Gilchrist has had a string of failures and when asked if the former Australian wicket-keeper would opt to sit out like Ponting has done for Mumbai, Lehmann said: "Look, Gilchrist would like to get some runs under his belt, just like we all would like to. Gilly knows he has to make some runs, be it this game or the next game or the game after. Gilly has to come good soon. When a player is not scoring well, he is under scrutiny and it will be no different in Gilly's case. We will sit down and see if he is a part of our selection plans." 

Lehmann said he was impressed with the domestic talent in his side with the likes of Mandeep Singh and Manan Vohra standing up to the occasion. 

"I am impressed with the domestic talent. We have to harness our talent and it is our motive to make the local talent play to their best as much as they can. We have seen a lot of young players in the side who have done well for us. For example; Manan Vohra has been impressive in the opportunities he has got and we are exposing him to the big stage. 

While he praised the young Indian players, Lehmann felt the overseas players need to contribute more. 

"I feel the overseas players need to make more contributions to make the job of the domestic players easier. This will be a good batting track and we expect our batsmen to play with a lot of freedom."