(IPL) The Maharashtra Derby will decide who between the Mumbai Indians and Rising Pune Supergiant will become the first team to seal a berth in the VIVO IPL 2017 Finals. MI & RPS will today contest the first of the playoff matches – having finished the league season as the top two teams
Mumbai Indians, contrary to what they’ve generally done in the past, established momentum very early in the season. They began the season with a seven-wicket defeat to this very opponent, but bounced back strongly and stitched together a six-match winning streak. That run was halted by RPS, who clinched yet another closely fought contest. MI then won four of their remaining seven matches to finish on top of the standings.
MI have had several players making contributions at various times in the tournament; that nine different players have won Man of the Match awards through the season helps establish that the team has not had to depend on one or two individuals to win matches. MI will have their full squad available for selection – and will be faced with a selection dilemma after the players they brought in (notably Saurabh Tiwary and Ambati Rayudu) in the previous match against KKR made match-winning contributions.
For Rising Pune Supergiant, making the playoffs has been a huge turnaround from the time when they were at the floor of the table; 11 days into the season, RPS were eighth in the standings with just one win from four matches. Then came the surge; they won eight matches out of the remaining 10 – including an emphatic nine-wicket win in the virtual knockout against Kings XI Punjab on Sunday evening. RPS will be without two of their key performers as they head to the playoffs; the all-rounder Ben Stokes and Imran Tahir have parted ways with the team to join up with their respective national teams. Who will stand up and fill in for the two players who had a huge influence on the turnaround? One expects the RPS management will give themselves additional ammunition in the bowling and add Lockie Ferguson in the XI. MI were the first team to book a playoff berth. Can they also be the first team to progress to the Final? Or will RPS ride the wave and book their maiden Finals appearance?
Rohit Sharma had a woeful first half of the season, but has discovered form at the right time; the MI skipper had an aggregate of 54 runs in the first seven matches (six innings), but has scored 228 runs in the latter half. MI will want their skipper – and biggest match-winner – to keep piling on the runs. Among others, keep an eye on Lendl Simmons, and the Pandya brothers – who are always up for a challenge.
For Rising Pune Supergiant, the three batsmen at the top will be crucial to the team. Ajinkya Rahane will be expected to bat for the major part of the innings, while his opening partner Rahul Tripathi will be expected to provide the early momentum. Steven Smith is the team’s main batsman – and he needs to get a big score. On the bowling front, Jaydev Unadkat will be expected to continue the good work he has done through the season; the left-arm pacer has played ten matches so far, and has picked up at least one wicket in each outing. The two spinners – Adam Zampa and Washington Sundar – have key roles to play too; Zampa will be a key bowler given MI’s poor record against leg-spinners, while Sundar will be expected to keep the two left-handers in the MI top three quiet.
