IPL 9, Match 29: RPS v MI – 5 Talking Points

It was the Maharashtra derby for the second time in the tournament as the Mumbai Indians locked horns with the Rising Pune Supergiants at Pune. On one end, there was a team that was soaring high on confidence having found the winning combination lately, the Mumbai Indians. At the other, there was Rising Pune Supergiants, who despite all their permutations and combinations, failed to get their act together.

Having put into bat first, RPS were given an early jolt as the in-form batsman Ajinkya Rahane walked back for just 4. A half century from Saurabh Tiwary and an attacking cameo from Steve Smith saw Pune cruising to a good total. The sudden flurry of wickets brought Mumbai back to the game and the hosts were restricted to 159/5 in their 20 overs. A spectacular knock from Rohit Sharma never let the RPS bowlers settle in the game and eventually they suffered their 6th defeat of the season.

1. Tiwary-Smith partnership:

Supergiants lost the wicket of Ajinkya Rahane, their leading run-scorer of the season so far, in the second over itself. Saurabh Tiwary was joined by Steve Smith at the crease. The duo forged a partnership of 82 runs for the second wicket in just 45 balls. When they were batting, Pune looked set to get a big total. Smith, who struck a century in the last match at the same venue, continued from where he left in the last game. He hammered the Mumbai Indians bowlers and hit 3 sixes and 4 fours in his innings of 45 that came in just 23 balls! The partnership was broken when he failed to glide one to third man and gave a catch to the wicket keeper instead. Tiwary continued to bat in the same way and brought up his half century. He scored 57 off 45 balls with 4 fours and 2 sixes.

2. Pune fail to capitalize on the momentum:

The RPS innings never got going once Steve Smith was dismissed. Peter Handscomb got his opportunity to bat for the first time in IPL and could score just 6. SaurabhTiwary brought up his half century but when the time arrived to hit a few long shots, he lost his wicket too. Steve Smith had set a wonderful foundation for the lower middle order batsmen to take the total to a big score. But neither did MS Dhoni nor ThisaraPerera could take the attack to the Mumbai bowlers and the team could post just 159 on the board, despite having a good powerplay score of 54 kudos to Steve Smith.

3. Bhajji-Rayudu clash:

Yet another talking point of the match was the on-field clash of Harbhajan Singh and AmbatiRayudu. Harbhajan Singh bowled a short of length delivery to SaurabhTiwary. Tiwary hit it to the mid-wicket region and a despairing dive from AmbatiRayudu couldn’t stop the ball. He got a hand to it but couldn’t stop it. Harbhajan, though, wasn’t pleased with the effort and looked animated at the fielder. The reaction didn’t go down well with AmbatiRayudu, who marched towards Harbhajan to ask what the problem his. Harbhajan tried to calm him down, but Rayudu was certainly not impressed with the reaction that Harbhajan gave.

4. Rohit Sharma at it again:

Rohit Sharma continued his scintillating form with the bat while chasing. He hit a classy 85 off just 60 balls to take his side to a victory. What remains so special about Rohit Sharma’s knocks is the fact that he doesn’t throw it away after reaching the fifty run mark. He continues till the very end to take his side to a victory. On this occasion too, he led Mumbai comfortably to a thumping 8 wicket win over the Rising Pune Supergiants. His knock was embellished with 8 fours and 3 sixes.

5. Supergiants bowling woes continues:

The Rising Pune Supergiants suffered yet another defeat, their 6^th of the season. This makes the equation very tough for them now to make it to the playoffs. With 6 games remaining, a win in each of them would take them to a total of 16 points. So , in order to qualify, they need to win every game from now on. The bowling remains to be a big concern. They played Scott Boland today, who started off well, giving away just 4 in his first over but later proved to be expensive. Ashok Dinda was on the expensive side too. When the time had arrived to deliver, a bowler like Ashok Dinda, with so much of experience, must deliver. He needs to up his game big time. RavichandranAshwin doesn’t look his normal self either. RPS can only home that their away games will help them fetch some points.

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