Mumbai face the Pune jinx in final
Pune's bowlers have been the reason for their 3-0 head-to-head against Mumbai. They have only allowed one half-century to the most prolific middle-order in the tournament
The Preview by Alagappan Muthu
20-May-2017
Match facts
Final, Mumbai Indians v Rising Pune Supergiant
Hyderabad, May 21, 2017
Start time 2000 local (1430 GMT)
Hyderabad, May 21, 2017
Start time 2000 local (1430 GMT)
Head-to-head
Overall: It's 4-1 to Rising Pune Supergiant. Mumbai Indians' most recent win against their opponents in the final came last year.
Big picture
It's groundhog day in the IPL, and Mumbai have gone to great lengths to make it happen. Now all they have to do is figure out a way to end the loop and get the girl. But if not that, then at least the trophy.
Who will win the IPL title?
1 votesMumbai Indians
Rising Pune Supergiant
Twice in the league, and again in the first qualifier earlier this week, Rohit Sharma and his men have come up against Rising Pune, done everything they can, only to wake up and see its still February 2. Bill Murray's character - spoiler alert - eventually escaped his fate by accepting his curse. While that makes rom-com fans go "aww", those that frequent the Wankhede would go "&^%$*". Mumbai are two-time champions. Rising Pune won't even exist in the IPL after Sunday. They want a win before this rivalry ends.
Krunal Pandya was seen receiving treatment to his groin during the second qualifier but Rohit has said he should be okay to play. Mitchell McClenaghan, who did not play that game, will be assessed on the morning of the final in Hyderabad.
The likely XIs
Mumbai Indians 1 Parthiv Patel (wk), 2 Lendl Simmons, 3 Rohit Sharma (capt), 4 Ambati Rayudu, 5 Kieron Pollard, 6 Krunal Pandya, 7 Hardik Pandya, 8 Karn Sharma, 9 Mitchell Johnson/Mitchell McClenaghan, 10 Lasith Malinga, 11 Jasprit Bumrah
Rising Pune Supergiant 1 Ajinkya Rahane, 2 Rahul Tripathi, 3 Steven Smith (capt), 4 Manoj Tiwary, 5 MS Dhoni (wk), 6 Dan Christian, 7 Washington Sundar, 8 Shardul Thakur, 9 Lockie Ferguson, 10 Jaydev Unadkat, 11 Adam Zampa
Strategy punt
There are statistics to suggest the legspinner Karn Sharma, Mumbai's unexpected trump card, and left-arm spinner Krunal Pandya, should be saved for the Rising Pune middle order. They have been hit for 20 runs off nine balls by Rahul Tripathi and 25 runs off 13 balls by Steven Smith. But they have managed five dots in nine balls to MS Dhoni and 11 dots in 22 balls to Manoj Tiwary, at an economy rate of six or less.
Stats that matter
Alagappan Muthu is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo