Unsettled Supergiants run into confident Mumbai

Sunday, May 1, 2016
Start time 2000 local (1430 GMT)

Rising Pune Supergiants announced themselves on the opening day of IPL 2016 with a nine-wicket win over defending champions Mumbai Indians, achieved with 32 balls to spare. In terms of balls left, the margin of victory is the third-best in the tournament so far and second in terms of wickets left. Since then, however, MS Dhoni's Supergiants have had only one victory in six matches.

After failing to defend 195 against Gujarat Lions, Dhoni made it clear that if Supergiants had to stay alive in the campaign his bowlers needed to create more impact, especially in the Powerplay. However, in the Powerplay, his bowlers have taken 10 wickets in seven matches, second only to Kolkata Knight Riders, who have 14 in as many matches. Even in the middle overs (7 to 15), Supergiants have maintained an economy rate of 6.71, the best among the eight teams.

Their problem appears to be lack of confidence. Dhoni's usual go-to man R Ashwin has failed to take wickets. After taking 2 for 36 in the opening game, Ishant Sharma leaked runs and took one wicket in the subsequent three matches before he was benched. Losing batsmen Kevin Pietersen and Faf du Plessis to injuries hasn't helped their cause and they suffered another setback when Australia allrounder Mitchell Marsh was ruled out for the remainder of the tournament due to a side strain.* Marsh was one of the more economical bowlers for the side, taking four wickets in three matches at an average of 11.25 and an economy rate of 5.

Dhoni and the coach Stephen Fleming have been critical of their players in public, an uncharacteristic situation for them. Their impatience, however, could also stem from the fact that the team have only seven matches remaining and the pressure to win could prove an unnecessary distraction.

Mumbai, have played the most matches so far in the tournament (8) and are placed fifth on the points table. After a few hiccoughs, they seem to have found balance in their line-up. In the first few games, their batting relied heavily on the success of their captain Rohit Sharma but Parthiv Patel, Ambati Rayudu, Jos Buttler and Kieron Pollard have also stepped up subsequently.

Simply put, this is a contest between a team low on confidence against a team gaining confidence with every game.

Rising Pune Supergiants LWLLL (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Mumbai Indians WWLWL

R Ashwin is undoubtedly a match-winner but has not yet made an impact in IPL 2016. There has been much debate on whether he has been under-bowled. With an average of 77 and two wickets in seven matches, Ashwin must be hurting and desperate to turn the corner.

Marsh's injury may mean the team could stick with Albie Morkel. The franchise has not yet confirmed whether Australia batsman Usman Khawaja, who was signed earlier this week, has joined the squad.

Rising Pune Supergiants (probable) 1 Ajinkya Rahane, 2 Saurabh Tiwary, 3 Steven Smith, 4 MS Dhoni (wk/capt), 5 Thisara Perera, 6 Peter Handscomb, 7 Rajat Bhatia, 8 R Ashwin, 9 Albie Morkel, 10 Ashok Dinda, 11 M Ashwin

Mumbai might opt for the same eleven that beat Kolkata Knight Riders in their previous match.

Mumbai Indians (probable) 1 Rohit Sharma (capt), 2 Parthiv Patel (wk), 3 Ambati Rayudu, 4 Jos Buttler, 5 Kieron Pollard, 6 Krunal Pandya, 7 Hardik Pandya, 8 Harbhajan Singh, 9 Mitchell McCleneghan, 10 Tim Southee, 11 Jasprit Bumrah

The Pune pitch was in the news earlier in the year when India were bundled out for 101 in a T20I against Sri Lanka on a green track. The match was played in winter and the ball was swinging, aided by stiff breeze. In this IPL, teams have set targets of 186, 161 and 196 at the ground. A big score can be expected once again, although the pitch could be on the slower side owing to the scorching summer temperatures.

"It won't work if we concede 60 runs or so in the first six overs. We definitely need to improve our bowling, especially with the new ball. Our bowlers need to step up. Simple."

*1051 AM GMT, May 1. The preview was updated to include news of Mitchell Marsh's injury