Top versus bottom (Preview)

For Pune, Wednesday’s encounter against Mumbai is probably their last throw of the dice to keep their hopes of making it to the top four alive. The Yuvraj Singh led side has lost half a dozen games on the trot relegating them to bottom of the table. The newcomers started their IPL campaign impressively winning first two games but nothing seems to have gone their way since. 

Their last game against Rajasthan just about summed up Pune’s last two weeks. Pune after having put a competitive total on the board succumbed at key moments to lose a game which they should have won. Three easy catches were dropped and that eventually cost them the match.

It would be interesting to see how former India captain Sourav Ganguly fits in the Pune Line-up. But, one thing is for sure that his inclusion would have kindled some hope in the hearts of Pune fans.

With Mumbai their opponents and captained by Mumbai’s favorite son Sachin Tendulkar, there wouldn’t be any crowd advantage for hosts Pune. Surely the crowd at DY Patil will be cheering for Sachin despite being home ground for Pune. And, their immediate fixture against tournament’s best team, Mumbai doesn’t make their task any easier. For Sahara Group owned side to have any chance to surprise Mumbai, onus will be on Yuvraj and Robin Uthappa to fire with the bat. Bowlers need to get their act together and cut down on the loose deliveries. Fielding was below par and that needs to be addressed as well.

Save for two poor games in the tournament, Mumbai have been ruthless winning games comprehensively. The Sachin led side have lived up to the tag of being clear favorites thus far. After a slip up against Rajasthan, Mumbai came back strongly to demolish Punjab and reclaim the top spot in the points table.

Such has been the dominance of Mumbai this season that both honour caps- Orange and Purple- lie with them. While Sachin has orange for being the highest scorer with the bat this season, slinger Lasith Malinga’s 19 wickets have earned him the Purple cap.

Undisputedly Mumbai have one of the better fielding sides in the tournament taking some unbelievable catches and saving plenty of runs. Mumbai, it seems, have an answer for every situation-explosive batting unit, most varied bowling lineup and likes of Kieran Pollard, Andrew Symonds and Rohit Sharma in the field to pounce on any possible chance.

The way visitors have been playing, a Mumbai win shouldn’t be a surprise but if Yuvraj and co play to their potential a cracker can be expected between two Maharashtra based franchises.

PUNE

Players who can make impact…

Alfonso Thomas…The South African T-20 expert has been undisputedly the best Pune bowler on view. He has made the ball to move on unfriendly surfaces taking wickets both with the new ball and in later stages of the game. His experience of playing the format is proving to be very prudent for the young Pune attack.

Yuvraj Singh…Skipper has to come good if Pune want to upset Mumbai. Yuvraj has been brilliant in patches and should play a long inning to face majority of deliveries from top class Mumbai bowling attack.

SQUAD

Yuvraj Singh (c) Sourav Ganguly, A Jhunjhunwala, Alfonso Thomas, Angelo Mathews, Ashish Nehra, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Callum Ferguson, Dheeraj Jadhav, Eklavya Dwivedi, Ganesh Gaikwad, Graeme Smith, Harpreet Singh, Harshad Khadiwale, Imtiyaz Ahmed, Jerome Taylor, Jesse Ryder, Kamran Khan, Manish Pandey, Mitchell Marsh, Mithun Manhas, Monish Mishra, Murali Kartik, Nathan McCullum, Rahul Sharma, Robin Uthappa, Sachin Rana, Shrikant Mundhe, Shrikant Wagh, Tim Paine (wk), Wayne Parnell

MUMBAI

Players who can make impact…

Lasith Malinga…Arguably best bowler in this format Malinga is going from strength to strength after every outing taking wickets in bundles. Sitting pretty clear of others in Purple cap race, Malinga has ripped heart out of opponent batting lineups on consistent basis and been one of the prime reasons for Mumbai’s dominance this season.

Ambati Rayudu…They young batting sensation has batted himself to be in reckoning for national team selection. He has been a breath of fresh air for the side making batting look ridiculously in the middle. The talented number three has tore apart bowling attacks with lot of ease. Pune will be in for some leather hunting if Rayudu comes good again.

SQUAD

Abu Nechim , Aditya Tare (wk), Aiden Blizzard, Ali Murtaza,  Ambati Rayudu, Andrew Symonds, Davy Jacobs, Dhawal Kulkarni, Harbhajan Singh, James Franklin, Kieron Pollard, Lasith Malinga, Moises Henriques, Munaf Patel, Pawan Suyal, Rajagopal Sathish, Rohit Sharma, Sachin Tendulkar (c), Santosh Yadav, Sarul Kanwar, Tirumalsetti Suman, Yuzvendra Chahal