It was the second match in the IPL 2017, after Sunrisers Hyderabad trashed Royal Challengers Banglore in the first match at home.
The match was intense, as it was not just a normal fixture on the table. A derby is always something more than the joy of victory and more importantly, when the match is between two major cities in a state.
Rising Pune Supergiants won the toss and selected to bowl first.
Parthiv Patel and Jos Buttler came into opening for Mumbai Indians, though Patel failed to put a big numbers on the scoreboard Buttler put an impressive 38 off 19 balls. The away team got a quick start into the match racing away to 61 at the end of the powerplay
Imran Tahir was introduced into the attack at the start of the seventh over, a bit earlier than he was supposed to, but this entry proved to be crucial as he delivered quick strikes by taking the wicket of Buttler.
The middle order did not perform quite well, as only Nitish Rana managed to add 34 of 28 balls. Kieon Pollard was damaging the bowling side of Pune as he hit 3 boundaries and 1 six, before he was taken down by Stokes.
Although Hardik Pandya's belligerent cameo, which included taking four sixes and a four off Ashok Dinda in the final over, helped Mumbai post a competitive 184.
Mahela Jayawardene and Rohit Sharma will certainly have some discussions about the decisions they took by going with four pace attack and left the spinners department bare.
Ajinkya Rahane’s 60 off 34 balls boosted the opening line up for Pune, as skipper Steven Smith’s unbeaten performance ended the show for Mumbai Indians.
AMandeep
