Pune are light on Indian batsmen
Match facts
There were 1, 676, 013 page views of an article on
ESPNcricinfo titled "List of players sold and unsold in IPL 2016."
Even last year, with the World Cup in full swing and with no shortage of
content on the site, it was this simple collection of player names and the IPL
teams they would suit up for that got top billing. Based on sheer public
interest - a vital measure - the Indian Premier League is a thing of
incredulity.
And the ninth season kicks off by
pitting the defending champions Mumbai Indians against newcomers Rising Pune
Supergiants. MS Dhoni has been put front and centre, and so has the best
batting track in the country. Amid all the critique that the tournament
endures, the organisers certainly do know how to sell it and the
audience are quite happy to buy into it.
The following in Rajasthan and Chennai might just
have diminished, though. So how can that be countered? By feeding off a rivalry
that has defined the IPL, of course. Mumbai are the only team that has a
favourable win-loss record against the suspended Chennai Super Kings, whose key
figures - captain Dhoni, lead spinner R Ashwin and head coach Stephen Fleming -
have broken away to form the core of the Supergiants.
The world's best will be in action again, a mere
six days after a World T20 where new heroes emerged, low-scoring matches were
still competitive and, despite the host nation being knocked out, the final was
played at Eden Gardens in front of a near-capacity crowd. The finish - how did
it go down again? Ah yes - with a flurry of sixes, a commentator screaming, and
a team emerging from damn near unwinnable situations to become champions was
very IPL. It's immensely hard to imagine that being matched, but never say
never with this tournament.
In the spotlight...
Mumbai made only seven purchases at the
auction, and Jos Buttler was their most
expensive buy. His price soared to INR 3.8 crore, despite his limited
experience in India, purely because of his ability as a 360-degree player. Now
he has had the experience of playing in these conditions - for a world
championship no less - and his presence in the middle order may just free up
Rohit Sharma to play in his preferred opening slot.
The English presence this IPL season is
reasonably strong. And even at the age of 35 and with only franchise cricket to
sustain himself, Kevin Pietersen was among the
best batsmen in the Big Bash League 2015-16. Only two men scored more than his
323 runs and none matched his four fifties in nine matches.
Team news
Lasith Malinga's injury might mean Mitchell
McClenaghan would be tasked with leading the Mumbai attack, especially
considering Tim Southee has not played international cricket in over a month.
The other choice Mumbai may need to make is between Kieron Pollard, who has
just recovered from injury, and Corey Anderson, who has been out of form, in
the XI. Harbhajan Singh will likely be their lead spinner, but which of J
Suchith, Krunal Pandya (both left-arm spinners) and Kishore Kamath (the
legspinner who was bought for INR 1.4 crores) will partner him?
Mumbai Indians (probable) 1 Lendl Simmons, 2 Rohit Sharma
(capt), 3 Unmukt Chand, 4 Ambati Rayudu, 5 Jos Buttler, (wk), 6 Kieron Pollard,
7 Hardik Pandya, 8 Harbhajan Singh, 9 J Suchith/ Krunal Pandya/ Kishore Kamath,
10 Jasprit Bumrah, 11 Mitchell McClenaghan
Supergiants might be relying on their overseas
roster for batting strength and their Indian recruits to shore up the bowling.
They appear rather light on spinners and might have to rope in rookie M Ashwin
to partner his namesake.
Rising Pune Supergiants (probable) 1 Ajinkya Rahane, 2 Kevin
Pietersen, 3 Faf du Plessis, 4 Steven Smith, 5 MS Dhoni (capt and wk), 6
Mitchell Marsh, 7 R Ashwin, 8 Irfan Pathan/ Ashok Dinda, 9 Ishant Sharma, 10
Ishwar Pandey, 11 M Ashwin
Pitch and conditions
Wankhede Stadium has been a fortress
for Rohit and his men and - for the moment, and after much trouble -
they can exploit all the advantages it brings. The weather should be fair and
the surface should be batting friendly.
Stats and trivia
Rohit has 995 runs as opener in 34 T20s, including
a century and seven fifties. However, he has opened for Mumbai only four times.
R Ashwin has 188 wickets in 179 matches, the most
by an Indian in T20s.
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