Rising Pune Supergiant and Mumbai Indians will contest in the season-ending Grand Finale. The two sides will contest in the Maharashtra Derby for the fourth time this season and one of them will be crowned VIVO IPL 2017 Champions
RPS took the shorter route to the Final after defeating their neighbours MI in Qualifier 1. Steven Smith’s team has had a fabulous season – in stark contrast to their performance last season; they recovered from a slow start and established momentum as the season has unfurled. There have been a handful of sensational performances from RPS players along the way, but by and large the team has ridden on useful contributions all-round.
MI ended the league stage as table-toppers. But they lost the first of the playoff matches and hence had to take a slightly longer route to the Final. In Qualifier 2 on Friday night, they were aggressive, executed their skills to the ‘T’ and defeated the Kolkata Knight Riders quite convincingly. MI begin favourites in this title clash – for they have good balance and several match-winners in their ranks. Also, several MI players have the experience of playing in an IPL Final, and that experience – of knowing how to overcome the big-game jitters – should serve MI in good stead.
MI have already won the IPL title twice – once in 2013 and then in 2015. Can they become the first team to win three IPL titles, or will the underdogs – a young and inexperienced Rising Pune Supergiant– cause an upset and clinch their maiden title?
Both teams have had several players putting their hands and winning matches through the course of the season. That can be established from the fact that 10 different players have won the Man of the Match award for the Mumbai Indians while seven different players have won the Man of the Match award for RPS. Who will stand up and play the title-winning innings, and who bowl that spell could be the difference between being champion and runner-up?
Among the batsmen, foremost will be the two captains – Steve Smith and Rohit Sharma. Ajinkya Rahane, who has discovered form at the right time, and MS Dhoni have the temperament required to succeed in such high-stakes matches; expect them to come to the party too. Among the other batsmen in the MI line-up, keep an eye out on Lendl Simmons and the two Pandya brothers.
Among the bowlers, keep an eye on the left-arm pacers. Jaydev Unadkat has picked up at least a wicket in each of the 11 matches he has played this season – RPS will expect him to add to his tally. MI will want whichever of the left-arm quicks takes the field – Mitchell McClenaghan or Mitchell Johnson – to land telling blows on the opposition.
The RPS captain Steven Smith batting against whichever of the two left-arm quicks – Mitchell Johnson or Mitchell McClenaghan – plays, promises to make for an exciting contest. After the punishment McClenaghan and Jasprit Bumrah received in Qualifier 1, it will be interesting to see how they come up and counter MS Dhoni.
The winning team will be crowned VIVO IPL 2017 Champions and take home a glistening trophy and the winner’s purse of INR 15 Crore. All players and support staff from the winning side will receive mementoes. The losing team will have to be content with a cheque for INR 10 Crore, presented to the runner-up.
Head to Head
Overall: Matches played – 5, Mumbai Indians Won – 1, Rising Pune Supergiant Won – 4
In 2017: Matches played – 3, Mumbai Indians Won – 0, Rising Pune Supergiant Won – 3
