Rising Pune Supergiant and Mumbai Indians will be locking horns in the first game of the playoffs in this edition’s Indian Premier League after having shelled out astounding individual and team performances to end up with the top two slots in the league table. While Pune came back after a string of defeats earlier in the tournament, Mumbai Indians had been at the top of things throughout the entire length of the league stage.
Both Mumbai Indians and Rising Pune Supergiants have lost key players due to national duties and the playoffs will a test of their squad strength as the team will look forward to their heroes to step forward as the running gets tougher.
With a look ahead to the first Qualifier, here are five players who we think will have a telling impact on tonight’s proceedings.
#5 Rahul Tripathi
Rahul Tripathi wasn’t an automatic choice for the Rising Pune Supergiant, to begin with, and was inducted into the team after Pune faltered in the opening few games. In the first go, he was assigned the responsibility of batting in the middle order with Pune going top heavy.
However, a string of losses and an underperforming Mayank Agarwal induced the team management to send Tripathi to open with Ajinkya Rahane. Since then the swashbuckling batsman from Ranchi hasn’t looked back, piling up runs at a fair clip.
With an unflinching approach, he has trashed bowlers to all corners of the ground and it was because of his exploits that Pune got off to some rollicking starts in the powerplays. If Pune has to nominate themselves as the frontrunners for winning the Qualifier 1, Tripathi has to fire all cylinders to push the Mumbai bowling attack back.
#4 Rohit Sharma
Rohit Sharma has uncharacteristically been out of touch for the majority of the tournament but has garnered some form right at the business end of the event. After returning from injury, the Mumbaikar struggled initially with single digit scores and looked completely out of sorts.
However, a couple of half-centuries against Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kolkata Knight Riders helped him gain momentum, going into the playoffs. The good news for Mumbai is that in spite of the lean patch with the bat, he still has racked up 282 in this IPL at a strike rate of 125.
The Mumbai skipper again needs to come to the party if Mumbai are to put up an impressive show in their crucial encounter against Steven Smith and Co.
#3 Steve Smith
After his stupendous run in the Test series against India, Steven Smith has carried forward his awe-inspiring form into the T20 extravaganza. With 420 runs at a strike rate of 125, he has been Pune’s mainstay with the bat and has been exemplary as a skipper.
His match-winning innings of 84 not out against Mumbai Indians kicked off his IPL campaign and since then he hasn’t looked back. Whilst he might not have the big scores to show off, his knocks have been pivotal in either setting a platform for the batsmen down the order.
Needless to say that the Australian skipper has to shell out another batting masterclass and also demonstrate his exemplary captainship to roll over Mumbai at the Wankhede.
#2 Jaydev Unadkat
The left arm fast medium pacer has been instrumental in Pune’s breathtaking run in this season’s Indian Premier League. With 21 wickets to show for, he has had a tremendous run with the ball in hand, churning out scalps at crunch moments of the game.
Unadkat has also displayed a tranquil head as he picked up a triple-wicket maiden in the final over of their contest against Sunrisers Hyderabad. Not many would have pinned hopes on Unadkat to stay in contention for the Purple Cap, but the pacer has been successful in proving the critics wrong.
On a belter of a wicket, Unadkat will have a tough job on his hands against the power-strikers that the Mumbai Indians possess. Pune’s chances in the playoffs will depend on how calm Unadkat can be in the pressure situations that rise at the death overs.
#1 Jasprit Bumrah
No matter how much good a pitch is for batting, if a bowler is able to spear in yorkers at pace, then there’s very little a batsman can dish out. Jasprit Bumrah has time and again manifested that toe-crushers can be a weapon to stem the run flow on any wicket.
A difficult batsman to get away, Bumrah has been right on the money for the Mumbai Indians while bowling in the death overs. When the likes of Brendon McCullum and Aaron Finch struggled to get bat to ball in their super over against Mumbai, one knows that there’s something special in store.
Bumrah’s cunning change of pace to complement his lethal yorkers will again be in requisite on a Wankhede wicket, which doesn’t offer much to the bowlers.
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