Big Picture
After losing their opening match in horrendous fashion, Delhi Daredevils have turned their season around. They have put in six impressive performances, winning five of them and losing one by a run. They have been led admirably by captain Zaheer Khan, whose creative field settings, mentorship and positivity have yielded rich dividends. That is to say nothing of his own bowling, which has been mostly spot on. As young batsmen like Karun Nair and Rishabh Pant find form, the team increasingly looks to have most bases covered.
The opposite is the case for Rising Pune Supergiants, who will make the trip to Feroz Shah Kotla for Thursday's encounter. Supergiants' campaign got off to a bright start, with a win over Mumbai Indians, but has rapidly gone off the rails and is now something of a shambles.
The bowling has been a weak link, with the pacers leaking runs and the lead spinner, R Ashwin, struggling to make an impact. The batting looked strong, but with the injuries to three of their five leading run-scorers - Kevin Pietersen, Faf du Plessis and Steven Smith - they have a massive hole to fill in that department as well. Having lost six of their eight matches so far, Supergiants are on the verge of entering do-or-die territory.
Meanwhile, it is worth keeping one eye on the battle of the captains. Zaheer had served as the leader of the pace attack for India under MS Dhoni. Now, for the first time, he has the chance to pit his captaincy wiles against his former captain. An innovative bowling leader - experienced, yet new to the job - will lock horns with a veteran who has led many a title-winning team.
Form guide
Delhi Daredevils WWLWW (last five matches, most recent first)
Rising Pune Supergiants LLWLL
In the spotlight
It is difficult to look past Zaheer Khan at the moment. He has combined figures of 4 for 48 in 7.3 overs in the last two matches, with his guile and penetration supplementing his returns. His captaincy seems to have rubbed off on his team. One feels that as long as Zaheer can continue to fire as bowler and as captain, Daredevils can continue to be greater than the sum of their parts.
In a team bereft of fast bowling options, Thisara Perera will have an increasingly important role to play. He has bowled well in patches, including towards the end, and his 13-ball 34 against Royal Challengers Bangalore displayed his usefulness with the bat. Supergiants need him to combine these facets consistently and become the go-to bowling allrounder they desperately yearn for.
Team news
After an impressive all-round bowling performance that set up a clinical eight-wicket win, Daredevils have little reason to change their XI.
Delhi Daredevils (probable): 1 Quinton de Kock (wk), 2 Rishabh Pant, 3 Sanju Samson, 4 Karun Nair, 5 Sam Billings, 6 JP Duminy, 7 Chris Morris, 8 Amit Mishra, 9 Mohammad Shami, 10 Zaheer Khan (capt), 11 Shahbaz Nadeem
Usman Khawaja and George Bailey have joined the Supergiants set-up and are available for selection. Given Smith's injury and Peter Handscomb's unconvincing innings against Mumbai Indians, they might both slot into the playing XI.
Rising Pune Supergiants (probable): 1 Ajinkya Rahane, 2 Usman Khawaja, 3 Saurabh Tiwary, 4 George Bailey, 5 MS Dhoni (capt, wk), 6 Thisara Perera, 7 Rajat Bhatia, 8 Scott Boland, 9 R Ashwin, 10 M Ashwin, 11 Ashok Dinda
Pitch and conditions
The Feroz Shah Kotla tends to favour spinners and slow bowlers. Interestingly, the last three matches played at this venue have been won by the team batting first, bucking the overall trend of this IPL. Two of them, though, were afternoon matches. The evening match saw Gujarat Lions prevail over Daredevils by one run. Temperatures on Thursday are forecast to hit the late 30s. There is a possibility of scattered showers in the afternoon, but that shouldn't affect the match.
Stats and trivia
Daredevils' opening stands amounted to 58 runs in their first 6 matches. In the last match, openers Quinton de Kock and Pant added 115
Supergiants' economy rate of 8.14 is second best among all teams; their run rate of 8.38 is fourth
South Africa batsman Hashim Amla is set to replace the injured Shaun Marsh at Kings XI Punjab, ESPNcricinfo has learnt. Marsh was ruled out of IPL 2016 on Monday due to a back injury.
It is understood that clearances for Amla's stint with the team have been obtained and ESPNcricinfo has learnt that he is expected to join the side soon.
Amla, who stepped down as South Africa's Test captain in January this year, is yet to make his IPL debut. The batsman was part of the player list for the 2016 auction in February, with a base price of INR 1 crore, but remained unsold.
Overall, Amla has played 88 T20s scoring 2446 runs at an average of 31.35 and a strike rate of 125.95. He scored two fifties as an opening batsman for South Africa in the recent World T20, tallying 120 runs in four matches in the tournament at a strike rate of 134.83.
Marsh reportedly picked up the injury in the game against Kolkata Knight Riders on April 19, and has been carrying a niggle since. He batted and fielded in Sunday's game, when Kings XI beat Gujarat Lions, with some discomfort.
"One interesting decision and everyone forgets you hit a fifty in the last game." It seemed Glenn Maxwell was still smarting from an incorrect caught-behind decision in Kings XI Punjab's previous game against Gujarat Lions. He couldn't score any runs then, but on Wednesday, it was almost like he couldn't be stopped.
Almost, because Piyush Chawla found a way, and did so at the perfect time. Maxwell fell for 68 off 42 balls with his side still 45 runs away from a target of 165 with only 26 balls in hand. A well-populated Eden Gardens reveled in the tension. So did a bowling attack that featured six internationals. Kolkata Knight Riders closed out a victory by seven runs and climbed to the top of the table.
Andre Russell had 11 runs to defend in the final over and he did so by picking up one wicket, apart from two run-outs, to finish with 4 for 20 in four overs. He was Knight Riders' battering ram, but he needed Chawla to make that decisive dent. By contrast, Kings XI were reliant on one man and he had far too much to do.
Maxwell took on the challenge though. He came in with the score on 13 for 3 and his determination to contribute was apparent in the shots he played - flicks and cuts against the Knight Riders quicks, who bowled too short at him, and powerful lofts down the ground against the spinners. Essentially, Maxwell wanted to limit the risks he took. His fifty came off only 29 balls, by which time he had played only one reverse sweep.
Towards the end of his innings, the cross-batted shots kept coming out and one of them did him in. Maxwell misread a googly from Chawla, played a reverse sweep against the turn and was adjudged lbw by umpire Anil Chaudhary. The batsman walked off unhappy because he felt he was hit outside the line of off stump, and while replays indicated more than half the ball had been outside the line, some of his anger may have been directed at himself. He was the only Kings XI batsman who showed any kind of control and with him out of the way, Knight Riders breezed past the finish line.
The result seemed never in doubt when Russell had knocked over Marcus Stoinis and Vohra in his first two overs. Morne Morkel had M Vijay caught at mid-off in the fourth over as the Kings XI top order paid the price for not taking time to understand a slow pitch.
Knight Riders fared better in that department as well. Gautam Gambhir and Robin Uthappa struck fluent half-centuries and added 101 runs for the opening partnership. Though the run-rate they maintained was only 7.48, they laid an excellent foundation for the big-hitters down the order by punishing a bowling line-up that couldn't get their length right.
On a sluggish pitch, short-pitched bowling allowed the batsman time to pick his spots, as Stoinis found out in the third over when Gambhir pulled a couple of fours away. It also allowed time to recover after making a mistake, as Mohit Sharma found out in the fourth over when Uthappa came forward to a back of a length delivery and was still able to drive it past point.
On top of that, Kings XI dropped Uthappa three balls after Gambhir was run-out. The culprit, Mohit, recovered well though. He and Sandeep Sharma switched to a mix of yorkers and slower deliveries for the last five overs. That meant Yusuf Pathan and Russell could not bring their power-hitting into play and Knight Riders had to settle for only 43 runs in that period.
Kings XI have dropped to the bottom of the table with six losses in eight games. They went in with only three overseas players on Wednesday - Maxwell, Stoinis and David Miller - after Shaun Marsh's back injury ruled him out of the IPL two days ago. Hashim Amla, who was brought in as a replacement, sat out because he had arrived in India on the day of the match and had had very little time to prepare.
In another clinical display, Delhi Daredevils' bowlers restricted table-toppers Gujarat Lions to 149, setting up a convincing eight-wicket win in Rajkot's last game of the season. In the chase, Rishabh Pant and Quinton de Kock blazed a 115-run partnership off 81 balls - the side's joint-fourth highest opening stand - to help Daredevils breeze to the second spot on the points table. Despite successive losses, Lions retained their place at the top. It was the 24th win by a chasing side in 31 games this season.
After opting to bowl, Daredevils' bowlers set up an advantage in the first four overs. It looked like Shahbaz Nadeem had trapped Brendon McCullum in front in the first over, but umpire Chris Gaffaney indicated that the batsman had got an inside edge. After facing three of the first 16 balls, McCullum charged at a Zaheer Khan slower ball. Like most of Zaheer's offcutters this season, it beat McCullum's wild swing and clipped the off stump.
Two balls later, Dwayne Smith chipped a long-hop from Nadeem to long-on. In the same over, Aaron Finch, who replaced an injured Dwayne Bravo, got a leading edge off his attempted sweep to short fine leg. Lions' three overseas batsmen were dismissed and already the middle order was limited to playing for singles and twos into Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium's large pockets. The score at the end of six overs read 35 for 3, Lions' lowest Powerplay returns of the season.
Apart from a well-timed uppercut for six, Suresh Raina struggled to find his timing. Dinesh Karthik, though, accrued his runs through well-placed sweeps and flicks in the vast outfield. Just when it looked like Lions had consolidated after the early jolt, Raina was stumped after misjudging a googly from Amit Mishra.
Thereafter, Ravindra Jadeja and Karthik resorted to the same modus operandi as the previous few overs. The pair, however, set up a solid platform for the end overs. Lions found at least one boundary in every over after the 13th, except the penultimate one.
The last five overs yielded 50 with hard-run twos contributing to the Lions score. Yet, the extent of the damage in the first four overs was so severe that Lions could only muster a sub-par 149.
De Kock and Pant, promoted to the opening slot, effectively finished the game by plundering nine boundaries in a 61-run Powerplay. Pant was particularly dominant with scythed cuts off the seamers' wide offerings. When the ball was straight, Pant used his strong bottom hand to whip fours through the arc at midwicket.
After matching Pant in the Powerplay, de Kock laid anchor and milked the bowling for singles. Pant, though, did not slow down. He used his feet to smear and swipe towards the long-on region as he struck his first limited-overs fifty, off 25 balls.
Both Pant and de Kock were dismissed after across-the-line heaves, but Sanju Samson and JP Duminy, who returned after regaining fitness, took Daredevils home with 16 balls remaining.
Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Virat Kohli has been fined INR 24 lakh (USD 36,000 approx) for his team's slow over rate in the game against Kolkata Knight Riders on Monday night. Kohli had already been found guilty of an over-rate offence earlier in the competition, when he was fined INR 12 lakh. Another such instance will fetch him a one-match suspension.
The rest of the Royal Challengers team were fined INR 6 lakh each.
The IPL has usually been severe on teams maintaining slow over rates. In 2010, Kings XI Punjab captain Kumar Sangakkara received a one-match ban for a third such offence, following fines of USD 20,000 and USD 40,000.
Opposition captain Gautam Gambhir also picked up a fine after Monday's game, for breaching the code of conduct article related to "abuse of cricket equipment or clothing, ground equipment or fixtures and fittings during a match".
Royal Challengers lost the game in dramatic fashion, going down by five wickets after Knight Riders had required 81 off 36. Yusuf Pathan and Andre Russell teed off at the end resulting in the asking rate coming crashing down, before Suryakumar Yadav joined Yusuf to take the team home. When Suryakumar swept chinaman bowler Tabraiz Shamsi for four in the penultimate over to bring the equation to two runs required off eight balls, Gambhir showed his emotions by kicking a chair in the dugout. That reaction, presumably, lost him 15% of his match fee.
Big picture
Rising Pune Supergiants' inaugural IPL season got off to the perfect start with a thumping win over defending champions Mumbai Indians in the tournament opener. Supergiants have lost two games since, and require a victory against Royal Challengers Bangalore to revive their campaign.
Royal Challengers, who also won their first game before losing two consecutively, have depended on a strong top order to mask their bowling fragility. Chris Gayle, who did not feature against Mumbai Indians, having flown to Jamaica to be with his partner for the birth of their first child, will miss this game too. Till Gayle returns, Royal Challengers could persist with KL Rahul opening and Travis Head at No. 5.
Royal Challengers have failed to find a settled bowling combination. Barring Harshal Patel, no other specialist bowler has played all three games. West Indies legspinner Samuel Badree has been ruled out of the tournament after failing to recover from an injured shoulder, and has been replaced by the South African chinaman bowler Tabraiz Shamsi.
Supergiants haven't found their best combination either. It isn't often that MS Dhoni makes wholesale changes after two matches - Supergiants made three against Kings XI Punjab, including drafting in Thisara Perera and Irfan Pathan for Mitchell Marsh and Rajat Bhatia as like-for-like replacements. The batting has been held together by Faf du Plessis' consistency (170 runs in three matches), but a misfiring middle order has been shown up. Supergiants have the personnel, but need to perform consistently to bid for a playoffs spot.
Form guide
Rising Pune Supergiants: LLW (most recent matches first)
Royal Challengers Bangalore: LLW
In the spotlight
Ajinkya Rahane is a vital cog in Supergiants' batting order. He started the season with an unbeaten 66 against Mumbai, but has scored only 30 runs over his next two games. A solid start could help an unsettled middle order come into its own.
Shane Watson was the most expensive purchase at the IPL auction (INR 9.5 crores), and his all-round abilities have made a telling difference to the Royal Challengers line-up. He has bowled four overs in all games, taken four wickets, and scored 57 runs at a strike rate of 154.05. With his experience, he will be asked to bowl at crunch times and provide Royal Challengers with impetus towards the end with the bat.
Team news
Supergiants brought in Perera and Pathan against Kings XI, but neither enjoyed a productive game. Dhoni may be forced to make changes again.
Rising Pune Supergiants (probable): 1 Ajinkya Rahane, 2 Faf du Plessis, 3 Kevin Pietersen, 4 Steven Smith, 5 MS Dhoni (capt, wk), 6 Mitchell Marsh/Albie Morkel/Thisara Perera, 7 Rajat Bhatia/Irfan Pathan, 8 R Ashwin, 9 Ankit Sharma, 10 Ishant Sharma, 11 M Ashwin
Royal Challengers made six changes for the match against Mumbai. Head and Rahul's cameos mean they are likely to retain their place. Iqbal Abdullah picked up three wickets, but conceded 40 off his four overs. Will Yuzvendra Chahal return?
Royal Challengers Bangalore (probable) 1 Virat Kohli (capt), 2 KL Rahul, 3 AB de Villiers, 4 Shane Watson, 5 Travis Head, 6 Sarfaraz Khan, 7 Stuart Binny, 8 Harshal Patel, 9 Kane Richardson, 10 Yuzvendra Chahal/Iqbal Abdullah, 11 Varun Aaron/S Aravind
Pitch and conditions
In the last T20 that Pune hosted, India were bowled out for 101 on a seaming deck against Sri Lanka. The pitch may not be as green as that night, but could retain its seam-friendly nature. There is no rain forecast.
Stats and trivia
In 15 innings since the start of 2016, MS Dhoni has scored 190 runs at an average of 47.30, with a highest score of 30. He has only been dismissed four times.
In the same period, Virat Kohli has scored 812 runs in 15 innings with an average of 101.50.
David Warner's third half-century of the season paved the way for Sunrisers Hyderabad's ten-wicket win over Gujarat Lions in Rajkot. Warner, who slammed 74 off 48, combined with Shikhar Dhawan, who struck a fifty of his own, for an unbroken 137-run opening partnership after his bowlers, led by Bhuvneshwar Kumar's 4 for 29, kept Lions to 135 for 8.
Warner began the chase with two fours off Dale Steyn, who was playing his first match of this IPL, and kicked into high gear with three fours off Praveen Kumar in the fourth over. Spin didn't stem the run-flow either as Warner cut and pulled Suresh Raina to the boundary. The Sunrisers captain brought up his half-century in 29 balls, by which time his team needed less than run-a-ball for victory.
Dhawan, at the other end, took the opportunity to bide his time and recover some of his form. He wasn't always fluent, but a paddle sweep off Dwayne Bravo in the 12th over changed that. At one point 25 off 24, Dhawan completed his half-century in 40 balls and though he didn't indulge in much celebration, he had to a couple of balls later. Warner sealed the victory with six overs to spare and time was ripe for a twirl of the 'tache.
That Lions were tied down, despite Raina's 75 off 51, was Bhuvneshwar's doing. He swung the new ball handsomely, as Aaron Finch found out in the first over when his stumps were splayed by an indipper, and when he couldn't get movement through the air, his mixture of slower balls were hard to put away on a large outfield. Bhuvneshwar took three wickets in the final over of the Lions innings, including Raina's, to cap Sunrisers' strong comeback.
Mustafizur Rahman played a hand in Lions' slowdown as well. He was saved for the final six overs again and still gave away only one boundary - when Warner misfielded at long-on. The Bangladesh seamer finished with 1 for 19, the mystery of his cutters no closer to being solved. Sunrisers also benefited from part-time offspinner Deepak Hooda and left-arm spinner Bipul Sharma rushing through five overs and picking up two wickets.
Lions, who had raced to 50 for 1 in the Powerplay, would have been disappointed that they could only manage 85 runs in the remaining 14 overs.
Raina eased his way back to form, scoring his first T20 fifty in 31 innings. On display were his typical shots: lofted drives with the bent knee, firm pushes through cover and wristy flicks off the pads. But the other Lions batsmen struggled for timing. McCullum mis-hit a slog sweep to deep midwicket and fell for 18 off 17 balls, Dinesh Karthik was dismissed for 8 off a full toss and Dwayne Bravo, also on 8, picked out deep square leg after being deceived by a slower ball. Bhuvneshwar's triple-strike in the final over meant Lions lost seven wickets for 79 runs, and slipped to their first defeat.
Dharamsala to host three matches
Three of Kings XI Punjab's home matches that were earlier scheduled in Nagpur will now be played in Dharamsala. The franchise shifted the games to Dharamsala following a Bombay High Court ruling last week that ordered all matches after April 30 to be moved out of Maharashtra due to a severe state-wide drought.
Kings XI were originally scheduled to play Delhi Daredevils, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Sunrisers Hyderabad in Nagpur between May 7 and 15. The High Court, however, moved out matches in Mumbai, Pune and Nagpur in May due to the water crisis. The ruling was in response to a Public Interest Litigation by a Hyderabad-based NGO that questioned the hosting of IPL games while Maharashtra suffered one its worst droughts.
Dhawan's form not a concern, says Laxman
VVS Laxman, the Sunrisers Hyderabad mentor, has dismissed concerns surrounding the form of Shikhar Dhawan. Dhawan, who has endured a lean patch, hasn't registered a single double-digit score, totalling just 16 runs in three innings in IPL 2016.
"Shikhar's form is not a worry for Sunrisers," Laxman said on Wednesday. "He is a gifted player, and when he plays well, he finishes off the match. He is a match-winning player."
Sunrisers, however, have had a few positives on the bowling front, most notably Mustafizur Rahman, the Bangladesh left-arm seamer. Mustafizur had returns of 2 for 26 in four overs in Sunrisers' opening match against Royal Challengers Bangalore, where the hosts blasted 227 for 4, and was the only bowler with an economy rate of under seven. He took 1 for 32 against Mumbai Indians to help set up Sunrisers' seven-wicket win, their first of the tournament.
"He (Mustafizur) is a smart bowler. He is exceptionally talented, he has a plenty of variations with the new and old ball, and more important, he is very consistent," Laxman said.
Sunrisers' batting hasn't exactly fired in unison and David Warner has done much of the heavy lifting. Laxman commended the captain even as he called on the rest to step up. "Warner has been in fantastic form and he played many match-winning knocks, but other batsmen, particularly domestic players coming in the middle order need to contribute more with the bat," Laxman said. "If the openers and middle order manage to click, then the team certainly enjoys a comfortable position."
Laxman also had a word of appreciation for Bhuvneshwar Kumar, left-arm spinner Bipul Sharma and left-arm medium pacer Barinder Sran for their contributions to the win against Mumbai Indians. Laxman put the defeats in the first two matches down to improper execution of plans and exuded confidence ahead of Thursday's clash against Gujarat Lions, who are undefeated in the competition.
Rohit Sharma returned to a batting position that has brought him considerable success to thwart Royal Challengers Bangalore on a flat Wankhede deck, helping Mumbai Indians revive their campaign with a six-wicket win. Promoting himself to open, Rohit made a 44-ball 62 as Mumbai overhauled Royal Challengers' 170 for 7 with 12 balls to spare.
The manner in which he slid back to direct the ball with his wrists behind point, used his powerful forearms to flick, and danced down the track to pull the ball into the stands with minimum effort showed he was in fine touch. He took charge of the chase along with Ambati Rayudu, who was anything but elegant yet equally effective during his 31.
The second-wicket stand of 76 in 55 balls laid the platform for Mumbai's chase, before Iqbal Abdulla dismissed Rayudu and Rohit in quick succession, both to slogs. Mumbai were 109 for 3 then, needing 62 off seven overs - well on track as dew took effect. Jos Buttler and Kieron Pollard, who replaced Martin Guptill, hit five sixes between them in a partnership of 31 off 2.4 overs. While Buttler was out for 28, Pollard remained unbeaten on 40 off 19 balls as Mumbai recorded their second win in five matches.
Halfway into the first innings, Mumbai, who opted to bowl, were staring at a 200-plus target as Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers feasted on some friendly bowling in a 59-run stand, before Krunal Pandya removed both in the same over.
Shane Watson fell soon after, but Travis Head, on IPL debut, and Sarfaraz Khan lifted Royal Challengers from 99 for 4 to 170 for 7.
Frenetic action filled the first 20 minutes of the game. KL Rahul - opening in place of Chris Gayle who was away on paternity leave - was put through a short-ball test by Mitchell McClenaghan, who hit him on the helmet with a bouncer that jagged into him off the pitch. After the early jitters, Rahul ramped and slapped his way to 23 before being caught at slip. Kohli and de Villiers then counterpunched before RCB lost three wickets in the space of 3.1 overs, while adding only eight runs to their score.
Head took his time to settle in, the nervousness showing as he pushed and prodded his way through nine balls before swatting Hardik Pandya for six over deep square leg in the 15th over. Sarfaraz showed there is more to his game than scoops and paddles as he milked the spinners, before clubbing two successive sixes off Jasprit Bumrah in the final over.
Mumbai lost Parthiv Patel in the second over of the chase, but Varun Aaron's third over, which went for 19, brought them back on track. Once Royal Challengers' uncapped Indian bowlers were summoned, a game that was marginally tilted in Mumbai's favour turned decisively their way. Abdulla's wickets injected a touch of excitement, but Pollard and Buttler snuffed out any possibility of a close finish.
Win the toss, restrict your opposition to a manageable total, and bat through the chase to win it for your team. Everything went to plan for David Warner, whose unbeaten 59-ball 90 steered Sunrisers Hyderabad to their first win of the season after their bowlers had kept Mumbai Indians to 142 in conditions that led to a well-matched contest between bat and ball.
It had rained in Hyderabad on the eve of the match, and the residual humidity made the new ball swing appreciably. Both the Sunrisers opening bowlers exploited this, but Mumbai's seamers, apart from Tim Southee, did not. They bowled too short and suffered the consequences on a deck that was otherwise excellent to bat on, and against a batsman, Warner, who loves to cut, slash and pull. All of Warner's boundaries against the quicks, apart from a big six down the ground off Jasprit Bumrah, came against the short ball.
Southee kept Mumbai in the game with three well-timed wickets, starting with a late-swinging yorker to Shikhar Dhawan, but Mumbai kept feeding Warner a steady supply of release balls, which he put away merrily. He ended the game with two sixes in three balls, flat-batting Mitchell McClenaghan over mid-off and pulling him over deep square leg, and Sunrisers were home with 15 balls remaining. Mumbai's defeat was their third in four matches.
Warner had hoped, while opting to bowl, that his seamers could exploit the initial freshness on a green-tinged surface. It only took four balls for Bhuvneshwar Kumar to strike, though it was swing rather than seam that did the damage. With Kieron Pollard out due to food poisoning, Mumbai had brought in Martin Guptill, and his debut innings in the IPL was terminated by a perfectly pitched outswinger that kissed his edge through to the wicketkeeper.
Guptill's inclusion meant Mumbai had to rejig their batting order, and Rohit Sharma demoted himself, rather than Parthiv Patel, to accommodate the New Zealand opener. Parthiv looked distinctly uncomfortable against the swinging ball, playing and missing repeatedly before he was bowled by a back-of-the-hand slower ball from Barinder Sran that jagged in like a left-arm wristspinner's googly. Then came a self-inflicted wound - Rohit, who came in at No. 4, running himself out while looking for a suicidal single. When Jos Buttler, surprised by extra pace from Sran, gloved an attempted pull in the 11th over, they were 60 for 4 and going nowhere.
At the crease now were Ambati Rayudu, who had been promoted to No. 3, and Krunal Pandya, who had been promoted to No. 6 ahead of his brother Hardik, who had batted at No. 3 in all of Mumbai's previous matches. All the meddling with the batting order indicated a muddled think-tank, but Rayudu and Krunal made the most of their opportunities.
They had to bide their time initially, with Moises Henriques and the left-arm spinner Bipul Sharma varying their pace cleverly in the middle overs. But Bipul, who had gone for only 14 off his first three overs, hadn't bowled much to a left-hander. Only three balls. The next four yielded 18 runs as Krunal swung him away for three successive sixes in the 14th over. Rayudu stepped out and hit one himself, and Bipul finished with figures of 0 for 40.
The momentum seemed to be with Mumbai, with six overs to go, but Sran, Bhuvneshwar and Mustafizur Rahman proved too difficult to get away, changing their pace astutely and executing the yorker perfectly. The three quicks shared the last three overs, and gave away only 19 runs while picking up two wickets.
Big picture
It is early days yet, but both Sunrisers Hyderabad and Mumbai Indians find themselves in the wrong half of the IPL points table. Sunrisers have lost both matches till date, by sizeable margins, while Mumbai have lost two of their first three. The losers of Monday's clash in Hyderabad could find themselves in the position of early season laggards.
The last time the two teams met in Hyderabad, for the final group match of the 2015 season, Mumbai walloped the hosts by nine wickets, with 37 balls to spare. The personnel on both sides is likely to be largely similar this time around. A similar result, though, would be a big blow to Sunrisers.
To turn things around, Sunrisers will need greater tactical shrewdness from their captain. David Warner's bowling changes have been baffling at times, especially his decision to hold back Bangladesh left-arm pacer Mustafizur Rahman in key moments. Against Mumbai Indians' big hitters, such tactical errors could be costly.
In the spotlight
Mustafizur has stood head and shoulders above the other bowlers in his side. In the face of Royal Challengers Bangalore's onslaught, he was the only Sunrisers bowler to emerge with tidy figures. Against Kolkata Knight Riders, he produced the ball of the match - a swinging, dipping yorker that floored both Andre Russell and his middle stump. His excellent disguise and control of his cutters has been an ever-present threat. If he is unleashed early enough against Mumbai Indians, he could make a difference.
The name is Pandya. Krunal Pandya. Thus far, Krunal has been in the shadows of younger brother Hardik, but against Gujarat Lions he outshone his sibling with bat and ball. A lower-order cameo of 20 off 11 was followed by tidy figures of 1 for 20 in four overs. Krunal's left-arm spin could be the perfect foil for Harbhajan Singh's offspin. Like Hardik, Krunal is also a live wire in the field. That's quite a handy all-round package.
Team news
With Eoin Morgan firing in the last match, Sunrisers are unlikely to change their combination.
Sunrisers Hyderabad (probable) 1 David Warner (capt), 2 Shikhar Dhawan, 3 Moises Henriques, 4 Eoin Morgan, 5 Deepak Hooda, 6 Naman Ojha (wk), 7 Ashish Reddy, 8 Karn Sharma, 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 10 Mustafizur Rahman, 11 Barinder Sran
Kieron Pollard has had a low-key start to the season, scoring exactly 1 run per match and not getting a bowl. There might be a temptation to replace him with Corey Anderson or Martin Guptill. If it is the latter, the batting order might need a re-jig, with one of the openers dropping down. Hardik Pandya might also drop down the order.
Mumbai Indians (probable) 1 Rohit Sharma (capt), 2 Parthiv Patel (wk), 3 Ambati Rayudu, 4 Jos Buttler, 5 Kieron Pollard/Corey Anderson/Martin Guptill, 6 Hardik Pandya, 7 Harbhajan Singh, 8 Krunal Pandya, 9 Tim Southee, 10 Mitchell McClenaghan, 11 Jasprit Bumrah
Pitch and conditions
The previous match at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium saw Knight Riders easily chase down a target of 143. Generally, this venue provides pitches with decent bounce and carry, with runs on offer. There is no rain forecast.
Stats and trivia
Warner and Morgan have scored 144 of Sunrisers' 324 runs this season
Bhuvneshwar Kumar has an average of 14.44 and an economy rate of 5.41 against Mumbai Indians in the IPL
Mumbai have lost both their home matches and won their only away match so far this season
It was a run-fest of the highest quality. Virat Kohli, a machine going by his current form, delivered again. His 48-ball 79 powered Royal Challengers Bangalore to 191 for 5, and AB de Villiers and Shane Watson chipped in with 55 and 33. But their efforts were put to shade by Quinton de Kock, who made a bruising 51-ball 108, the first hundred in IPL 2016, to lift Delhi Daredevils to a seven-wicket win at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. It was Daredevils' first victory over Royal Challengers since 2010.While De Kock starred in the lead role, Karun Nair, who hails from Bangalore, played the supporting act in a 134-run third-wicket stand that came off 76 balls. He remained unbeaten on 54 as Daredevils won with five balls to spare.Zaheer Khan, the Daredevils captain, was clear that Kohli's prowess at chasing had influenced his decision to bowl first. What he didn't account for was a Chinnaswamy deck that looked biscuit brown and was ripe for plundering. Kohli went on to show he could be equally dangerous when setting targets. The groundwork was laid during his second-wicket stand of 107 with de Villiers but Daredevils hit back with a tremendous exhibition of late-overs bowling. The returning Mohammed Shami and Chris Morris conceded only 27 off the last four overs.Daredevils' chase was dealt an early blow when Shreyas Iyer was dismissed by Shane Watson and David Wiese, whose tag-team effort resulted in a stunning catch at long-on. But the loss had little effect on de Kock as he pierced a packed off-side field for three fours off the offspinner Parvez Rasool in the second over.De Kock was particularly punishing through the off side, a majority of his runs coming behind square. Once he was set, the other elements of his game surfaced. A nonchalant flick off Harshal Patel in the ninth over soared over deep square leg, and when in the 90s he used the pace to scoop the ball over short fine leg. The result was a wagon wheel with spokes all around the wicket.De Kock's sparkling form helped Daredevils ride a trough when Sanju Samson struggled to play his shots, but his dismissal in the sixth over turned their fortunes. Nair and de Kock attacked Yuzvendra Chahal, Patel and Wiese, whose combined tally at one point was 78 off seven overs. Their predictability put immense pressure on Watson to deliver as the equation came down to 56 off six overs.By then, Nair was settled. Not a shot was played in desperation or anger, and his form took the pressure off a tiring de Kock, who brought up his century off his 48th ball. Once into the home stretch, there was a sense of inevitability to the game. After de Kock walked off to applause from Watson, who had him caught behind, Duminy struck the winning runs to secure Daredevils' second successive victory this season.Daredevils appeared to wrest an early advantage with Chris Gayle's dismissal in the first over to Zaheer. But de Villiers and Kohli were least affected by the loss, and carried on from where they had left off in the opening game. Ten fours and a six came in the first six overs as Royal Challengers moved to 63 for 1.The spinners, Pawan Negi and Amit Mishra, fared only marginally better than the quicks in the face of the de Villiers-Kohli onslaught. It needed Carlos Brathwaite, the World T20 hero, to dismiss de Villiers in his first over to rejuvenate Daredevils. But Daredevils had little relief as Kohli and Watson took over.With 21 coming off the 16th over, bowled by Zaheer, Royal Challengers were 164 for 2 and well set for a second successive 200-plus score. But the wickets of Watson and Sarfaraz Khan in the space of three balls denied them a late flourish.
Big Picture
After crumbling in all departments against Rising Pune Supergiants, Mumbai Indians crumbled in the field against Kolkata Knight Riders. But Mitchell McClenaghan's funky promotion and Jos Buttler's blast ultimately helped Mumbai gun down 188 for their first points. Buttler could be unstoppable on Saturday too, if the Wankhede pitch plays true to its nature. Martin Guptill, who can be equally unstoppable once he gets going, has joined the Mumbai roster as a replacement for the injured Lendl Simmons. That Rohit Sharma has broken his lean patch with 84 not out against Knight Riders, highlighted by pristine drives, comes as a big boost to the hosts.
Mumbai, however, will have to contend with playing only three more matches at the Wankhede this season, including the clash against Gujarat Lions. A Bombay High Court ruling has ordered matches after April 30 to be moved out of Maharashtra because of a state-wide drought. Mumbai will aim to veer from their late-surge template and find some early pace at home to build momentum. Lions already have built it, having sealed two comfortable victories in two matches. Aaron Finch, Brendon McCullum and Suresh Raina come close to matching Royal Challengers Bangalore's top three in terms of winning games on their own. Dwayne Bravo's dipping slower balls, James Faulkner's slippery back-of-the-hand variety, and Pravin Tambe's sliders cap a bowling attack that has plenty of skill, but Lions will have to do without Ravindra Jadeja, who is getting married on Sunday, and will therefore miss the game.
In the spotlight
Hardik Pandya's celebrations know no bounds. He has jumped high into the night, clenched his fists, set off on sprints, and roared wildly. The allrounder has batted at No.3 in both games for Mumbai so far and managed scores of 9 each time. He has been quiet with the ball as well. Can he kick into overdrive against Lions?
Aaron Finch and Dwayne Bravo were the key men for Melbourne Renegades in the Big Bash League this season, although the team did not make the knockouts. Finch made 246 runs at 49.20, while Bravo hit 201 runs at 50.25 in addition to claiming six wickets. The two have started brightly for Lions in the IPL. Finch has struck back-to-back fifties and picked up back-to-back Man-of-the-Match awards, while Bravo has turned games with his assortment of slower balls.
Team news
Guptill may take Tim Southee's place and Parthiv Patel could be left out in favour of Vinay Kumar. In that case, Buttler will keep wicket. Left-arm spinning allrounder J Suchith, who received a pasting in the last match, may make way for Karnataka team-mate Shreyas Gopal.
Mumbai Indians (probable) 1 Rohit Sharma, 2 Martin Guptill/Parthiv Patel, 3 Hardik Pandya, 4 Jos Buttler (wk), 5 Kieron Pollard, 6 Ambati Rayudu, 7 Shreyas Gopal/J Suchith, 8 Harbhajan Singh 9 Mitchell McClenaghan 10 Vinay Kumar/Tim Southee 11 Jasprit Bumrah
Lions have no like-for-like replacement for Jadeja, and will have to choose between playing an extra batsman in Ishan Kishan or a left-arm spinner in Shivil Kaushik. Pravin Tambe dragged Supergiants back with his sliders and is likely to keep his place in the XI.
Gujarat Lions (probable) 1 Aaron Finch, 2 Brendon McCullum, 3 Suresh Raina, 4 Dwayne Bravo, 5 Dinesh Karthik (wk), 6 Akshdeep Nath, 7 Ishan Kishan/Shivil Kaushik, 8 James Faulkner, 9 Praveen Kumar 10 Shadab Jakati 11 Pravin Tambe
Pitch and conditions
The Wankhede did not dish out a typical belter in the IPL opener. The surface offered early seam movement and then grip to the spinners before easing out. Dew may be a factor, which means that the team chasing will have an edge.
Stats and trivia
Lions' squad contains four bowlers with more than 50 wickets in the IPL - Praveen Kumar, Bravo, Faulkner and Jadeja
Harbhajan Singh needs one wicket to surpass Piyush Chawla as the third-highest wicket-taker in IPL history, behind Lasith Malinga and Amit Mishra
Quotes
"Jos is going to be a very important member of the team. Going ahead into the tournament, he is a key factor for us… We know he is that kind of a player. He has done it for England many times."
Mumbai captain Rohit Sharma
"I think in these first two games, his [Raina's] captaincy has been outstanding. In both the games, we got off to a rough start with the ball, but he has remained calm, composed under pressure and made sound decisions."
Brendon McCullum
Big pictureOne game into the season and Sunrisers Hyderabad's injury concerns are already piling up. Having lost Yuvraj Singh for two weeks before the tournament even began, Sunrisers will now miss Ashish Nehra for at least two games because of a groin injury, and Kane Williamson, who is out till next week with a hamstring strain. However, the silver lining lies in the depth of their bowling reserves, with four fast-bowling options on the bench in Trent Boult, Ben Cutting, Barinder Sran and Abhimanyu Mithun.Sunrisers did not find much joy in their 45-run loss to Royal Challengers Bangalore on Tuesday. Their bowling was taken apart, as RCB plundered 227 despite Mustafizur Rahman's frugality. As long as David Warner batted, Sunrisers believed, but the house came crashing down after he holed out for 58. Sunrisers did not get close despite two quality individual performances. The rest need to perform quickly or this could be a long season.Like Sunrisers, a sub-par bowling performance cost Kolkata Knight Riders in their previous game, at home against Mumbai Indians. However, one may argue their batsmen did not do enough to get 200, a score they looked set for, for most of their innings. Boosted by the availability of Sunil Narine, Knight Riders will be keen to address those issues in the first afternoon game of the season. Their middle order - Yusuf Pathan, Colin Munro and Suryakumar Yadav - has been largely untested, and could be required at any stage to win a game.In the spotlightDavid Warner's blitz kept Sunrisers in the hunt in the chase of 228 in their tournament opener. His 25-ball 58 included five sixes. The Rajiv Gandhi Stadium is not as small as the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, but Warner rarely relies on short boundaries. He averages 63.10 in 13 matches in Hyderabad at a strike rate of 167.37, including six fifties. Sunrisers will once again be dependent on their best batsman for a strong start.Knight Riders' tale of two halves against Mumbai was illustrated by Andre Russell's tale of two halves. Coming in at no. 4, Russell smashed a whirlwind 17-ball 36 to propel his side to 187, but he also conceded 52 off his four overs. Despite most of the bowlers varying their pace on a two-paced Kolkata pitch, Russell failed to adapt as the batsmen used his pace to score boundaries. Knight Riders need a firing Russell - with bat and ball - to entertain hopes of their third title.Team newsSunrisers have to make a forced changed with Nehra sidelined for at least two games. In terms of a like-for-like replacement, Boult and Sran fit the bill. If they choose the former, Eoin Morgan might be pushed out of the XI. Williamson's hamstring will keep him out of action till "early next week", according to a Sunrisers release.Sunrisers Hyderabad (probable): 1 David Warner (capt), 2 Shikhar Dhawan, 3 Moises Henriques, 4 Naman Ojha (wk), 5 Deepak Hooda, 6 Eoin Morgan, 7 Ashish Reddy, 8 Karn Sharma, 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 10 Mustafizur Rahman, 11 Barinder SranIf Narine is available for selection, John Hastings could make way. As a result, chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav could lose his place to pacer Umesh Yadav. Knight Riders also have the option of Shakib Al Hasan.Kolkata Knight Riders (probable): 1 Robin Uthappa (wk), 2 Gautam Gambhir (capt), 3 Manish Pandey, 4 Colin Munro/Shakib Al Hasan, 5 Suryakumar Yadav, 6 Yusuf Pathan, 7 Andre Russell, 8 Piyush Chawla, 9 Sunil Narine/John Hastings, 10 Brad Hogg, 11 Kuldeep Yadav/Umesh YadavPitch and conditionsIn the past, the pitch at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium has provided even bounce and carry, aiding stroke-making. Both sides boast firepower that can utilise these conditions. There is no rain forecast.Stats and trivia Since the start of 2013, Shikhar Dhawan's highest score in all T20s is the unbeaten 73 he scored against Mumbai Indians in May that year. Yusuf Pathan averages 99.50 against Sunrisers, with 199 runs in six games at a strike rate of 184.25. Quotes"You can see he's got a lot of confidence in his skills. He practices all his deliveries religiously in the practice sessions, which means he's not only talented but working hard to control his variations."Sunrisers mentor VVS Laxman on Mustafizur Rahman's work ethic
Bangalore is likely to host the IPL final after the fixture had to be moved from Mumbai following the Bombay High Court's ruling to shift all IPL matches after April 30 out of Maharashtra because of severe drought. Kolkata is in line to stage the Eliminator and the second Qualifier, both originally scheduled in Pune.
The proposed changes were arrived at after IPL chairman Rajiv Shukla met officials from the Mumbai Indians and Rising Pune Supergiants in Delhi and need to be ratified by the league's governing council.
Shukla said Supergiants had listed Visakhapatnam as their alternative to Pune, though the franchise requested they play their May 1 match in Pune because of a short turnaround; Supergiants also play at home on April 29.
Mumbai will decide their alternative venue on Sunday; their options are Jaipur, Raipur and Kanpur.
"After speaking to the franchises, we have given them four options: Raipur, Jaipur, Kanpur and Visakhapatnam. Mumbai Indians have asked for time till day after tomorrow," Shukla said. "Pune has given Visakhapatnam as its preference. We will put the proposal of Pune team before the governing council."
A fine cocktail of experience and youth delivered Delhi Daredevils their first victory of the season. The old boys - legspinner Amit Mishra, featuring in his 100th IPL match, and captain Zaheer Khan - led the way with the ball, smothering Kings XI Punjab to 111 for 9. Then the youngsters took over as Quinton de Kock and Sanju Samson put on a 91-run partnership to seal Daredevils' first points of the season.
While Zaheer gave his team the early spark after choosing to bowl on what he called a "slow surface," Mishra pierced through Kings XI's top and middle order with dip, turn, and sometimes, even a lack of turn. Mishra had Shaun Marsh stumped with his first ball, then dismissed David Miller and Glenn Maxwell in his second over to break the opposition's spine. Three of Kings XI's heaviest scoring batsmen were dismissed in the space of 16 balls, leaving the score at 52 for 4 in the ninth over.
Mishra was supported by Zaheer, who placed a slip, and at times a short leg, to capitalise on the nervous batsmen. Daredevils built on the double-strike and did not concede a boundary between the ninth and 14th overs. It was during this phase that Mishra rattled Manan Vohra's leg stump with a wrong' un to claim his fourth wicket in three overs. Kings XI were reeling at 59 for 5 in the 11th, but Zaheer did not call on Mishra to bowl any further.
Kings XI's struggles were not restricted to spin though. Zaheer, who had conceded he had "tried too much" in the first match against Kolkata Knight Riders, found swing right away. His first delivery moved back in and had the extra bounce to rap M Vijay on the thigh pad. That meant the balls that went on with the angle across the right-hander became more effective. Zaheer teased the outside edge regularly in his first spell but he had to wait till his second for a reward. In the 18th over, bowling a mix of slower balls, Zaheer had Mohit Sharma caught at mid-off.
Chris Morris did his part as well, bowling yorkers in the slog overs and hustling the opposition with his pace. Offspinner Jayant Yadav strung four quiet overs together, benefitting by the Kings XI lower order not knowing whether to attack or defend.
Kings XI made life easier for Daredevils in the chase. De Kock was reprieved twice - Vijay dropped him at deep square leg on 7 before Wriddhiman Saha botched a stumping chance on 22. De Kock, who was rather subdued in the Powerplay, hit rhythm when he cracked three fours off Axar Patel in the eighth over.
Samson came out at No. 3, after Shreyas Iyer was adjudged caught behind despite Snicko picking up nothing, and took nine balls to get off the mark, via a risky pick-up shot off seamer Sandeep Sharma. He was 9 off 18 balls when he charged out to Pardeep Sahu's legspin and launched a full toss over the long-on boundary. Samson then welcomed Maxwell with successive fours, while de Kock raised his half-century off 38 balls. Axar bowled Samson for 33 in the 13th over, but de Kock and Pawan Negi took Daredevils home comfortably.
Another one-sided encounter, another win for the chasing team. This season's IPL, it seems, is on repeat mode, after Gujarat Lions cruised to a seven-wicket win against Rising Pune Supergiants in Rajkot. After a strong start, Supergiants looked set for a score in excess of 180, but a superb display of defensive bowling towards the end turned the contest in Lions' favour. Aaron Finch and Brendon McCullum then effectively killed the game by pillaging 62 in the Powerplay, during their chase of 164.
MS Dhoni had pulled back some momentum for Supergiants by contributing to a 20-run last over in the first innings, but his bowlers threw it all away. Loose deliveries stacked up, and the Lions openers duly dispatched them. Four fours and two sixes off the seamers, RP Singh and Ishant Sharma, meant Dhoni turned to M Ashwin in the last over of the Powerplay, but Finch took the legspinner for four fours in a 19-run over.
Finch then hit medium-pacer Rajat Bhatia for two sixes over long-on in the seventh over, but holed out to square leg in the ninth, for 50 - his second half-century of the season. By then, though, the damage had been done.
McCullum continued to latch on to wayward bowling, as the spinners failed to extract much from the patchy surface. Supergiants' day was summed up when Dhoni missed a routine stumping with McCullum well short of his crease after R Ashwin had yorked the batsman.
After McCullum top-edged an attempted pull to cover off Ishant, the captain Suresh Raina and Dwayne Bravo produced cameos as Lions reached the target with two overs to spare.
Supergiants' batting was a tale of two halves. Faf du Plessis and Ajinkya Rahane continued from where they left off against Mumbai Indians, using exquisite timing to plunder five fours in the first 21 balls. After Pravin Tambe trapped Rahane lbw in the fourth over, Kevin Pietersen and du Plessis ensured a productive Powerplay with a bunch of boundaries.
The pair added 30 off 13 balls to end the Powerplay at 57 for 1, with du Plessis being particularly aggressive down the ground. Even as the field spread, the boundary was found regularly and their stand stretched to 83.
But just when Supergiants looked to accelerate, Bravo brought out his slower balls to stall the charge. He bowled four of them in succession in the 14th over, the last of which forced Pietersen to drag on. Suddenly, one wicket brought three as the spinners found their lengths. Ravindra Jadeja, who has played most of his domestic cricket at this ground, varied his pace effectively to concede just four off the 17th and 19th overs to finish with figures of 2 for 18.
The situation may have been a lot worse had Dhoni not given Supergiants a late surge - he took Bravo for a six, two fours and three twos in the last over. In the end, Supergiants' 163 was nowhere near enough as they tasted their first defeat in the IPL.
Big picture
Both new franchises had an easy start to their IPL lives but one team will suffer its first loss as Gujarat Lions face off against Rising Pune Supergiants in Rajkot.
On Monday, Aaron Finch and Dwayne Bravo used their wealth of T20 experience to consign Kings XI Punjab to their ninth loss in ten games. But it was Lions who lost the first phase of that game, conceding 87 runs in the first 10 overs before the bowlers pulled it back. Considering Supergiants' powerful middle order, Suresh Raina and his men may not be able to stave off defeat if they get off to a similar start with the ball. Thursday's match will Rajkot's first in the IPL, and Lions' first at home, which could be a decisive factor against an equally-matched opponent.
Supergiants seamers exploited an uncommonly helpful Wankhede pitch to effectively finish Mumbai Indians off by the midway stage. A potentially spin-friendly Rajkot pitch could provide an entirely different script, but Supergiants have assembled a team suited to slow and low conditions. Their nine-wicket win on Saturday meant the middle order did not get to bat, but in Steven Smith and MS Dhoni there is enough experience to help the team acclimatise quickly.
In the spotlight
Tomorrow may only be Ravindra Jadeja's second T20 at SCA stadium in Rajkot, but it is his home ground and that feel-good factor cannot be ignored. Overall, he has played 14 matches across formats at this venue, scored 1084 runs at an average of 83.38 and taken 48 wickets. On Monday, he elicited Kings XI's slide with wickets in consecutive overs. His all-round ability, along with those of Bravo and James Faulkner, improves the balance of the Lions outfit.
Despite having bowled five overs in his last three T20 matches, R Ashwin may be depended on to bail Dhoni out of another situation. With three left-handers in Lions' top six, including captain Raina, Ashwin could be deployed in the middle to stall their progress. Besides, the Rajkot pitch could be best suited to his style of bowling.
Team news
In a horses-for-courses approach, Lions could bring in legspinner Pravin Tambe or chinaman bowler Shivil Kaushik for Pradeep Sangwan.
Gujarat Lions (probable): 1 Brendon McCullum , 2 Aaron Finch, 3 Suresh Raina (capt), 4 Dinesh Karthik (wk), 5 Dwayne Bravo, 6 Ishan Kishan, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 James Faulkner, 9 Praveen Kumar, 10 Sarabjit Ladda, 11 Pravin Tambe
With Dhoni's insistence on playing the same team, Supergiants are unlikely to tinker with their winning combination.
Rising Pune Supergiants (probable) 1 Ajinkya Rahane, 2 Faf du Plessis, 3 Kevin Pietersen, 4 Steven Smith, 5 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 6 Mitchell Marsh, 7 Rajat Bhatia, 8 R Ashwin, 9 Ishant Sharma, 10 RP Singh, 11 M Ashwin
Pitch and conditions
With a crop of players from different backgrounds, both sides have the ability to be flexible. In Rajkot, they may have to adjust to sluggish conditions. Plenty of cutters and slower balls could be used. There is no chance of rain.
Stats and trivia
Since November 2015, Kevin Pietersen has scored 960 T20 runs at an average of 45.71, including seven fifties and two centuries.
Dhoni has been dismissed just once in his last 13 T20 innings.
Quotes
"I really appreciate the love from the fans, throughout India. Wherever I go, there is a big fan following. (We) play cricket to entertain the fans and perform for them."
Dwayne Bravo is impressed by the support from the fans
All IPL 2016 matches scheduled in Maharashtra after April 30 must be moved out of the state, the Bombay High Court has ruled. The ruling came after a Public Interest Litigation questioned the hosting of matches in Mumbai, Pune and Nagpur due to a severe drought in Maharashtra.
The ruling affects 13 matches, including the final which was to be held in Mumbai on May 29. Pune will miss out on six matches, including the Eliminator and Qualifier 2, while no games will be held in Nagpur. The state was earlier scheduled to host 20 matches.
Last week, the court had sought an explanation from the BCCI and the three state associations on why water should be "wasted" on hosting the games when the state faced one of its worst ever droughts. The court later allowed the opening match to be held as scheduled in Mumbai on April 9, and asked the Maharashtra state government and Mumbai's civic body, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, to respond on plans to tackle the issue of water shortage. On Tuesday, the court orally asked the BCCI if matches could be shifted out of Pune.
In its defence, the BCCI had stated that less water was used to prepare the ground for an IPL game when compared to an international fixture. The board also stated that it intended to use treated sewage water for ground preparation in Mumbai and Pune. Mumbai Indians and Rising Pune Supergiants, the franchises based in Mumbai and Pune, had proposed to contribute INR 5 crore to the Maharashtra chief minister's drought relief fund and supply 40 lakh litres of water to drought-hit areas at their own cost.
While the BCCI is mulling its next move, IPL chairman Rajiv Shukla has admitted that moving games out of Maharashtra is a logistical problem for the board. He also pointed out that no objections of this kind were raised when Mumbai and Nagpur hosted World T20 matches last month.
"Organising the IPL is a gigantic work. It's not easy. All preparations had been done, completed," Shukla said. "Now shifting the matches will be a problem. So far, we have not got the written order, after we get that, we will study the order and work out an alternative plan. We always respect the court. We need to talk to other franchises. We will have to work it out.
"The key problem is water for farmers, which we are trying to find a solution to. We were willing to give water, contribute to the CM's fund. Now shifting matches will be a problem. If matches are to be shifted, where will they be moved, how will they be moved, all these issues are involved. And this comes after nobody raised an issue about the 24 World T20 matches that were held recently.
"Nobody raised these issues for six months. Whatever was required, we were willing to do. In fact, I would like to point out that a lot many other sports and cultural events are going on in Maharashtra, which also use water and they should also help."
Anurag Thakur, the BCCI secretary, said there was an attempt to create negativity over issues: "We are not using drinking water, we have said that we will use treated sewage water only. How many swimming pools of five-star hotels have been shut? Have people stopped watering their lawns? There is an attempt to create negativity on every issue these days. IPL was to use 0.00038% of water so that shows the requirement was not much."
Ness Wadia, co-owner of the Kings XI Punjab franchise, welcomed the order. Kings XI were scheduled to play three home matches in Nagpur between May 7 and 15, apart from games in Mumbai and Pune on May 13 and 21, respectively. "I'm very happy with this, we welcome this decision," he said.
It was entirely bewildering. Mitchell McClenaghan walked out at No. 4 for Mumbai Indians. It is not like the side is short of hitters. Mumbai spent INR 3.8 crores acquiring a new one for this year, but Jos Buttler caught fire only after the spark provided by McClenaghan's eight-ball 20. The events between the 11th and the 15th overs of the chase decided the winner of the match - Mumbai, by six wickets.
McClenaghan's responsibility - under normal circumstances - was to slip into Lasith Malinga's shoes. Be the wicket-taker at the start and the enforcer at the end. Today, he was asked to disrupt the Kolkata Knight Riders spinners. And he was given the freedom to do so. Every single shot played by the New Zealand fast bowler was a slog. His second, third and fourth balls cleared the Eden Gardens boundaries. The eighth - a wide full toss that he tried to slog sweep - led to his downfall but by then Mumbai had regained lost momentum. An equation of 101 off 60 balls had shrunk to 79 off 49.
It became 49 off 30 when Buttler followed a straight drive with pulled six off chinaman bowler Brad Hogg. A scoop to the fine leg boundary - which established Buttler's finesse - and two lofted cover drives - which established his power - deflated Knight Riders. Gautam Gambhir, who had taken the record (27) for the most fifties in the IPL earlier in the night, watched the ball soar and the chances for his team sink with every minute Buttler was on strike.
When Buttler eventually fell for 41 off 22 balls, the Mumbai captain, Rohit Sharma, back at his preferred opening position, provided more evidence of why he should be given as many overs as possible in a T20 game. Rohit held the innings together with his unbeaten 84, and even finished it off with an array of beautiful shots - a straight six, a deft glide to third man and an outrageous sweep off an overpitched delivery coming at him with the express pace of Andre Russell from around the wicket. Rohit averages 50.12 and strikes at 145.81 at Eden Gardens in T20 cricket. Mumbai, his team, have won eight out of 10 games at this venue, including the IPL title in 2013 and 2015.
Knight Riders' batting may not have been as eye-catching as Mumbai's, but it was very efficient. Manish Pandey could find the boundary at will. He pulled his second ball for four, dominated the spin of Harbhajan Singh and J Suchith by virtue of his quick footwork, and secured his fifty off only 26 balls. The standout shot, though, was a glide to third man off Jasprit Bumrah in the 13th over. The pitch was excellent for batting, but it was allowing the cutters some grip. Pandey saw the variation out of the bowler's hand, waited for it to arrive and simply let it fly off the face of his bat.
His captain Gambhir was a little less adept - at the end of the second over he was only 3 off 8 balls - but a lot more determined. Gambhir hared back and forth for twos - there were eight of them in his innings of 64 - and ensured he was at the crease for as much of the 20 overs as possible. Andre Russell bludgeoned 36 off 17 balls to give the Knight Riders a total they thought was more than par.
But their most trusted weapon - spin bowling - was dismantled by Rohit and company. Hogg, Kuldeep Yadav and Piyush Chawla cost 103 in 11.1 overs. There was no coming back from that.
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