Indian Premier League Mumbai vs Pune
The start of another long and exciting Indian Premier League season is upon us as the defending champions Mumbai Indians get us underway when they play host to the newcomers Rising Pune Supergiants in Mumbai on Saturday afternoon.
With it being the first game in the tournament everyone will be excited and all eyes will be on this match especially as it is a rare Indian Premier League Saturday with only the one match. Both sides will be eyeing up a fast start.
Mumbai Indians
The defending champions took a while to get going last season but if ever there was a tournament where how you start is irrelevant compared to how you finish it is this one but even so they will hope to be up with the pace this season.
They were a strong side anyway but they have strengthened further in the auction bringing players like Jos Buttler into the fold and he should be a huge player for them, especially in home matches on the fantastic batting wicket at the Wankhede.
Rising Pune Supergiants
Although they are a new side they didn’t lack for power in the auction splashing out on the likes of MS Dhoni as skipper and overseas talent in Kevin Pietersen, Steve Smith, Faf du Plessis and Mitchell Marsh.
Dhoni and Rahane aside there isn’t really a standout Indian batsmen in their ranks, although we saw the Dhoni-Fleming combination unearth many a local talent in their Chennai Super Kings days. They do have plenty of Indian bowlers so it might be that their overseas core will be utilised in the batting.
Team news
Lasith Malinga is a non-runner for the Mumbai Indians. In seasons gone by that would be a major concern but the rise in stock of Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya coupled with the form of Mitchell McClenaghan both last season and since ensures Malinga might not be missed as much as he once was.
The other decision Ricky Ponting and his coaching staff have to make is whether Corey Anderson gets the important all-rounder spot or if Kieron Pollard gets it despite a lack of cricket recently after his injury.
Pune’s team selection will be interesting. If they pack their team with four overseas batsmen or all-rounders there would be no place in the side for Scott Boland while Thisara Perera is unlikely to edge Mitchell Marsh out. Dhoni, Ashwin, Rahane and Ishant Sharma form a core of Indian players.
Venue
The Wankhede Stadium plays host to the tournament opener just a few days after it staged that incredible T20 World Cup semi-final between India and the West Indies.
We saw throughout that tournament how good a batting wicket this is and with the eyes of the world on this game we’re expecting nothing other than a batting paradise again here.
Despite the ground being nearly impossible to defend, as South Africa and India both found out to their cost in the World Cup, Mumbai actually have a good record here but whoever wins will need to bowl well as batting should be comfortable.
Bets
I hate getting involved in the match betting on this ground as I’ve repeatedly said over the last few months but I definitely can’t bring myself to do it here because Pune are too much of an unknown quantity to be safe with.
One bet I am happy to get stuck into though comes in the form of the sixes where a line of 14.5 looks plenty high enough but I’m not so sure it is actually as big as it looks. We saw throughout the World Cup how the ball flies on this ground and how the boundaries are short and we’ve plenty of hitting talent on display here.
Simmons, Sharma, Buttler, Anderson/Pollard, Rayudu, Dhoni, KP, du Plessis and Marsh are just some of the huge hitters at our disposal in this match so I’m expecting plenty of big hits here to get the tournament underway. I’ll take the overs to get us going this season.
Tips
Back 15 or more sixes for a 4/10 stake at 1.91 with Bet365
Back them here:
