The playoffs of the tenth edition of the Indian Premier League are here and every team is flexing their muscles to come hard and strong at each other. The first contest of the playoffs, in the form of the Qualifier 1, between the Mumbai Indians and the Rising Pune Supergiant promises to be an exhilarating encounter at the Wankhede.
Both Mumbai and Pune have been impressive in their respective campaigns and are deservingly the top two sides in the playoffs. While the Indians will be performing in front of their vociferous home ground in the Maharashtrian derby, Pune are also all set to come all guns blazing.
And we take an insight into the reasons why the Rising Pune Supergiant can humble the Mumbai Indians on their home turf.
#5 Advantage of being underdogs
The tag of favourites is good to have, but with it comes expectations to perform without any hiccups. On the contrary, starting as underdogs might pan out to be a blessing in disguise for a team and can work to their advantage.
RPS will be commencing their fixture against MI as the dark-horses and have the potential of getting the better of Rohit Sharma’s men. Albeit the odds are heavily stacked against Pune for the Qualifier 1, Steven Smith’s warriors have shown time and again that performance on the day is what matters the most.
A case in point would be the Sunrisers Hyderabad. They weren’t rated among the favourites last year to win the title, but they proved every critic wrong as they went on to lift the cup under the leadership of David Warner. Pune may not start with the advantage of having the batting firepower like Mumbai, but they have the skill-set to turn their rivals over as has been shown in their previous two meetings.
#4 Bowling peaking at the right time
During the early stage of the tournament, Rising Pune Supergiants faltered in getting their bowling combinations in place. The result was that they were handed three successive losses by handsome margins at the hands of Kings XI Punjab, Delhi Daredevils and Gujarat Lions.
The tables turned when their bowling started providing apt support to Imran Tahir to build pressure on the opposition batsmen. The youngsters came to the party and the Indian bowling contingent flourished big time to help Pune string together a cluster of wins.
The likes of Jaydev Unadkat, Shardul Thakur and Washington Sundar have shouldered their individual responsibilities pretty diligently. If Pune are to topple Mumbai, then the bowlers have to be right on the money from the word go on a batting paradise like the Wankhede normally is.
#3 Been there, done that
The Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai is the fortress for Mumbai Indians and very few teams have emerged victorious amongst the sea of blue. Apart from the pitch being heavily laden to support strokeplay, the toss also becomes an important factor at the Wankhede as it becomes a tumultuous task to win, defending a target.
And that is something RPS have done already this season. Pune didn’t only won their contest against Mumbai at the Wankhede but also did it by defending a modest target of 160 runs.
Though it won’t be an easy game for Rising Pune Supergiants by any stretch of the imagination, there’s no doubt that Steven Smith and Co. will be straining every muscle to replicate the same performance to book a place in the final without having to play Qualifier 2.
#2 Ability to perform even after losing big guns
Losing the impact players isn’t something to cheer for any team and things can effortlessly turn for the worse afterwards. Rising Pune Supergiants suffered a major jolt when Ravichandran Ashwin got ruled out due to an injury even before the IPL got underway.
Instead of panicking, they went for Imran Tahir as the replacement spinner and it paid dividends to the delight of the Pune franchise. Tahir held one end up with his immaculate line and length in addition to the timely scalps he extracted.
Tahir’s loss later in the tournament could have been fatal, but Pune kept their winning run intact through all round shows with both the ball and the bat. Ben Stokes’ departure is another body blow before the playoffs and RPS again have to show their resolute character to stitch together a gritty show against MI.
#1 Batting has clicked throughout
Pune’s batting has been top notch during the course of the tournament as it has helped them cross the winning hurdle quite a few times. Ajinkya Rahane’s form has been concerning, but Pune have kept faith in him to lend his calmness to the proceedings at the top of the order.
However, the batsmen below have been in superlative form, garnering runs for Pune during crunch moments of a game. While Rahul Tripathi has been a revelation with the willow, Steven Smith has led RPS from the front with some gutsy knocks.
Manoj Tiwary, also, has displayed a composed head and has come to the party for his team by chipping in with useful contributions. RPS batsmen, like previous occasions, have to bring their A-game to the fore to give MI a run for their money on their home ground.
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