By Madhu Jawali
Hyderabad, May 21: Form guide says it should be Rising Pune Supergiant but conventional wisdom suggests it would be Mumbai Indians again.
That Mumbai are considered favourites to win the IPL-10 final here at the Rajiv Gandhi stadium on Sunday despite losing to Supergiant in all three matches – including Qualifier 1 – this season, reflects the aura that Rohit Sharma’s unit possesses.
At the same time, it is also an indication that Mumbai, the table-toppers and the first team to make the play-offs, aren’t without chinks in their armoury. If you take out losses against Pune, Mumbai’s domination has been near total this season. It is, therefore, fair to say that Steve Smith and company have successfully managed to exploit Mumbai’s shortcomings.
One of them has been the lack of consistency from the star batsmen. The likes of Rohit Sharma, who has been below par by his own high standards in IPL, Kieron Pollard and Lendl Simmons have only fired in fits and starts. While Parthiv Patel has managed to retain his good form through the season, Nitish Rana has fizzled out after a great start to the tournament. His replacement Ambati Rayudu needs to find his range and rhythm.
That Mumbai have managed to maintain their cloak of “invincibility” is down to handy contributions from Pandya brothers – Krunal and Hardik – and most of the replacements they had to introduce due to situational demands. The opening partnership has particularly suffered after the departure Jos Buttler as his replacement – Simmons – has failed to provide the solidity the Englishman had.
Chasing is another aspect that hasn’t been Mumbai’s forte. While they have made heavy weather of some middling targets before scampering home, three of their five losses have come when chasing. The bowling department, though, is an embarrassment of riches.
Mitchell McClenaghan (19 wickets) is one of the top performers. Jasprit Bumrah, Lasith Malinga, Mitchell Johnson, Harbhajan Singh and Karn Sharma have all had impressive outings so far. Not to forget Krunal and Hardik who between them have 16 wickets.
Pune, on the other hand, have been deceptively good. After a series of losses at the start of the league, they not only managed to bring their campaign back on track but finished second on the table.
Unlike Mumbai, who have thrived more on team effort, Pune have flourished on the back of individual brilliance. At various times, skipper Smith, the talismanic MS Dhoni, Manoj Tiwary and even a largely off-colour Ajinkya Rahane have inspired the team to victory. The services of their English all-rounder Ben Stokes, their finest performer, and the prolific wicket-taker Imran Tahir will be sorely missed by Pune but they have shown the ability to win even in their absence.
The threat of Dhoni looms the largest over Mumbai who were undone by his power-hitting in Qualifier 1. The much-scrutinised former India skipper will be keen to prove one last point to his detractors before he bows out of his current franchise. While Dhoni is a proven master, the emergence of Jaydev Unadkat, a contender to win the Purple Cap, has been a real plus for Pune.
The left-arm seamer has combined well with another seamer Shardul Thakur to lend sharpness to the attack. Tamil Nadu’s Washington Sundar has been a real find for the Pune outfit. The off-spinner has not only provided breakthroughs but has the second best economy at 6.61 runs an over. If Pune need some real pace, they have Lockie Ferguson to unleash.
The two most consistent sides in the league are in the final and it will be interesting to see whether Mumbai become the first team to win three IPL titles or Pune bag their maiden trophy in only their second, and most probably the last, year in the league.