The 9th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is all set to kick off with defending champions Mumbai Indians (MI) facing off against newbies Rising Pune Supergiants (RPSG) at the Wankhede Stadium on Saturday.
RPSG were one of the two new teams that were formed after the suspension of Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Rajasthan Royals (RR). Former CSK captain MS Dhoni, who was with the Chennai-based franchise for 8 seasons, will lead the team from Pune.
Also read: Mumbai Indians vs Rising Pune Supergiants Live Cricket Score: Catch IPL 2016, 1st T20, MI Vs RPS match updates
The Mumbai Indians, on the other hand, will attempt to become the first side to win the IPL thrice having already won the competition in 2013 and 2015. They have made some big signings in the auction, with English wicket-keeper Jos Buttler bought for Rs. 3.8 cr and New Zealand pacer Tim Southee for Rs. 2.5 cr.
The Rohit Sharma-led side have also made some impressive Indian signings, with Nathu Singh and Krunal Pandya expected to contribute at some stage of the season.
Mumbai Indians vs Rising Pune Supergiants 2016 LIVE Streaming Details
TV Channel: Sony ESPN, Sony ESPN HD, Sony Six, Sony Six HD, Sony Max
Online Stream: www.starsports.com, Hotstar App
IPL Match Date: 9 April 2016, Saturday
IPL Match Time: 20:00 IST, 14:30 GMT
IPL Match Venue: Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
Team News
Mumbai Indians Team
Mumbai Indians will be without their strike bowler and the all-time highest wicket-taker in the IPL Lasith Malinga who is yet to recover from the injury that kept him out of the ICC World T20. Coach Ricky Ponting has mentioned that he will out for the initial weeks of the tournament.
MI had a very balanced team last season and it’ll be interesting to see how they will tweak their line-up to include new signing Jos Buttler. Rohit Sharma has indicated that he will open the innings which means Parthiv Patel could be relegated to the bench.
The middle-order will consist of a number of all-rounders which include Corey Anderson, Kieron Pollard, Hardik Pandya and J Suchith.
Rising Pune Supergiants Team
Since Rising Pune Supergiants are a new team and it will be tough to guess their starting XI. Ajinkya Rahane, Faf du Plessis, Kevin Pietersen and Steven Smith are expected to occupy the places in the top-order which give the team a very solid look.
MS Dhoni and Mitchell March – who was bought for a huge amount at the auction – will be expected to be the big-hitters with batting contributions expected from Irfan Pathan and R Ashwin.
Pune have a lot of options when it comes to Indian fast bowlers and it’ll be interesting to see who they pick in their final XI.
Also read: IPL 2016 Highest Paid Players, Full List of IPL Season 9 Player Salaries
Teams (Predicted XI):
Mumbai Indians Team
Rohit Sharma (c), Lendl Simmons, Ambati Rayudu, Jos Buttler (wk), Corey Anderson, Kieron Pollard, Hardik Pandya, J Suchith, Harbhajan Singh, Nathu Singh, Jasprit Bumrah.
Rising Pune Supergiants Team
Ajinkya Rahane, Faf du Plessis, Kevin Pietersen, Steven Smith, MS Dhoni (c/wk), Mitchell Marsh, Irfan Pathan, R Ashwin, Murugan Ashwin, Ishwar Pandey, Ishant Sharma.
Best IPL Performances:
Mumbai Indians: Champions – 2013, 2016
Rising Pune Supergiants: N/A
Key Stats:
0 - An MS Dhoni-captained team has never failed to reach the playoffs of the IPL.
4- Mumbai Indians lost their first four matches in IPL 2015.
199 – The average score at Wankhede in the recently concluded ICC World T20 was 199.
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