The Rising Pune Supergiant had a forgettable Season 1 in the Indian Premier League, when they finished seventh on the table. However, Season 2 of the carnival has seen them revive their fortunes and how.
9 wins in 14 matches has meant that they finished second on the table and as a result made their way to the Playoffs.
Here are five reasons why they have made such a stupendous comeback in the IPL:
5.Fully fit squad for the whole campaign
Last season, the Supergiants(as they were called) suffered because of a spate of injuries. Steve Smith, Faf du Plessis and several other key players could not play as big a role as they would have liked.
But this year, with a full strength squad, under a new leader, the Supergiant have shown what they are capable of. Smith at the top of the order has made major contributions. The bowling with Imran Tahir leading from the front after coming into the squad as a replacement for the injured Mitchell Marsh and others also chipping meant that Pune got the chance to show their true colours on the field and as a result of that, they now find themselves in the position where they could win their maiden IPL title.
4.Rahul Tripathi-The surprise star at the top
Ahead of the season, the Supergiant picked Mayank Aggarwal as an opening option with Ajinkya Rahane. When that decision backfired, they decided to go for the unknown quantity named Rahul Tripathi, much to the surprise of everyone.
However, has the right-hander proved his critics wrong or what? 388 runs in 12 matches at a strike-rate of 150 meant that he exceeded all expectations with his exploits with the bat and emerged as one of the key components in the RPS’s scheme of things.
He is set to play a minimum of two matches in the Playoffs and how he stands up and delivers in the crunch moments will be keenly watched.
3.The brilliance of Imran Tahir
When Imran Tahir did not find a buyer in the IPL auction in February, it raised quite a few eyebrows among the T20 pundits. However, an opportunity, as a replacement for the injured Mitchell Marsh emerged and Tahir found himself on the plane to India for the 2017 IPL.
The 38-year-old, who played for the Delhi Daredevils last year, proved to be a superb choice, picking up 18 wickets in the 12 matches that he featured in, consistently taking key opposition wickets at a slightly high economy rate of 7.85.
In the business end of the competition, it remains to be seen if the RPS can manage and deliver in the South African’s absence.
2.The surprising performer in Jaydev Unadkat
Prior to the start of the Indian Premier League, not many would have had Jaydev Unadkat, on their list of players who would succeed in this edition of the IPL. But the Saurashtra bowler has risen above all odds and how. 21 wickets in 10 matches at an economy rate of 7.37 have meant that he is just behind Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the leading wicket-takers tally and with a minimum of two matches still to go in the competition, he will look to add to that tally.
1.All-round contribution of Ben Stokes and Daniel Christian
At the IPL auction, the RPS picked up Ben Stokes for an amount of Rs. 14.5 crores.
It was a selection, which could only mean one thing, which was that the franchise was heavily dependent on the Englishman to win outright games on his own, either with the bat, ball or in the field.
During the course of the 12 matches that he played in, Stokes ensured that he repaid the faith shown on him by the team, scoring 316 runs, that included a 100 against the Gujarat Lions at home.
Although his contribution with the ball was not as big as it was with the bat, he did produce a few magical moments on the field as well and all this meant the Supergiant progressed through to the Playoffs.
On the other hand, Daniel Christian- a selection really gone unnoticed during the auction, proved to be a useful contributor for the side, especially with the bat in hand. The Australian helped the side finish games towards the end and the team will hope more of the same from him. In the last group game against the Kings XI Punjab, he also got among the wickets and that would augur well for the side.
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