IPL 2017: Rising Pune Supergiants v Mumbai Indians, 5 factors of winning

#5 Potential pitfalls

Will Pune be able to make up for Ashwin’s loss?

Ravichandran Ashwin is out of this IPL probably and that is a big setback for Pune. Although they have Imran Tahir, Super Giants have to be careful with their bowling which is their Achilles’ Heel. Jayadev Unadkat and Ishwar Pandey are steady at their best while Ashok Dinda is unpredictable. They lack genuine firepower and would probably rely heavily on Stokes and Zampa to pull things back. And that is a big risk.

Mumbai Indians don’t have a weakness on paper. Their batting is brilliant and so is their bowling. However, their domestic batting stalwarts – Ambati Rayudu and Rohit Sharma are both back from injuries. Rayudu showed some form in the Deodhar Trophy but MI will need one of these two to hold the top order so that Jos Buttler can be unleashed in the last few overs. Pollard’s recent form for West Indies against Pakistan is a huge concern too.