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Rising Pune Supergiant (RPS) vs Mumbai Indians (MI), IPL 2016, Match 29 at Pune: Kieron Pollard vs Murugan Ashwin and other key battles

Kieron Pollard is sure to take Murugan Ashwin to cleaners but might chip away his wicket if he fails to read Murugan’s wily deliveries.

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Kieron Pollard scored 17-ball half-century in MI’s previous encounter © IANS

We are halfway through the ninth edition of Indian Premier League (IPL), and like every other season, it has been a perfect blend of one-sided affairs and nail-biting encounters. In Match 29 of this T20 extravaganza, Rising Pune Supergiants (RPS) will take on Mumbai Indians (MI) at Pune. These two teams battled in the tournament opener at Mumbai. It was the RPS bowling unit who got the better of the batting-heavy MI. However, MI have been showcasing spectacular performance and are above RPS in the points table. Like the previous contest, this fight promises to display fiery battles that are sure to set the roaring Pune stadium on fire:  FULL CRICKET SCORECARD: Rising Pune Supergiants vs Mumbai Indians, IPL 2016, Match 29 at Pune

Ajinkya Rahane vs Mitchell McClenaghan: RPS’ talismanic batsman has been at his fluent best. Every time he lost batsmen at the other end, he consistently stepped up and kept the scoreboard ticking. With already 4 half-centuries to his name, he’ll be keen to perform against his hometown Mumbai.

While Rahane has been RPS’ top scorer, McClenaghan is the owner of the Purple Cap. Throughout the tournament, McClenaghan has been nicely mixing up his length and deceiving the batsmen with his crafty change in place. When pit against class-apart Rahane, it will be an uphill climb for McCleanaghan to dismantle the defence of the man in form. But, if pitched in the right areas at a torrid pace, he might even get the better of Rahane.

Steven Smith vs Jasprit Bumrah: Smith graced the shortest format of the game with a refined hundred in RPS’ last match and is looking in a menacing touch. As he has the knack of shuffling across and working the ball on the leg side, it will be interesting to see how he tackles Bumrah’s in-swingers. Preview: Rampant MI face wounded RPS

Bumrah’s ability to go wide of the crease and deliver the ball at angle has troubled the best of the batsmen. Nonetheless, Smith will show no mercy if Bumrah bowl on his pads. Indeed it’s a battle between two of the finest modern-day cricketers.

Rohit Sharma vs Ashok Dinda: MI heavily relied on Rohit’s success in the initial phase of the tournament. He batted incredibly under pressure and helped MI chase mammoth totals. Dinda, on the other hand, has been RPS’ pick of the bowlers, picking up wickets at regular interval.

Rohit is one of the most prolific hookers of the ball and scores runs at a brisk rate when there’s bounce on offer. Given Dinda’s high-jump action, Rohit will feed on him in the batting Powerplay. However, Rohit’s inability to put away out-swingers is something Dinda would focus on. His round-arm action would come in handy to get the better of Rohit.

Kieron Pollard vs Murugan Ashwin: Pollard’s 17-ball half-century is the prime reason why he has been MI’s key player over the years. He has the unusual knack of making a mockery of any colossal total. When on song, he’s simply unstoppable. Plus, he likes hunting down the spinners.

Murugan has been MS Dhoni’s go-to bowler in the death overs. He takes wickets as well as keeps lid on the runs. His wrong ones have been difficult to score runs against and his tossed up ones propels the batsmen to play rash shots. Arguably, Dhoni would pit him against Pollard when he comes to bat in the middle or death overs. Pollard is sure to take Murugan to cleaners but might chip away his wicket if he fails to read Murugan’s wily deliveries.

(Kaustubh S. Mayekar, a reporter at CricketCountry, played cricket at U-16 level. Like his idol Rahul Dravid, he often shadow-practises cricket shots. His Twitter handle is @kaumedy_.)

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