Mumbai Indians (MI) will face off against Rising Pune Supergiants (RPS) in the opening match of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2016 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Saturday. RPS could be considered the remnants of Chennai Super Kings (CSK), with the likes of MS Dhoni, Ravichandran Ashwin, and Faf du Plessis in the side, and players such as Albie Morkel, Ishwar Pandey, Thisara Perera, Irfan Pathan, and Baba Aparajith having played for CSK in the past. The rivalry between MI and CSK is one of the most celebrated ones in IPL. Live Cricket Score: Mumbai Indians (MI) vs Rising Pune Supergiants (RPS), IPL 2016 Match 1 at Mumbai
RPS are a brand new team, and most of the players will be in the same side for the very first time. Ajinkya Rahane and Dhoni have never played for the same IPL team, as have Steven Smith and du Plessis, or Ravichandran Ashwin and Kevin Pietersen. The first and biggest task at hand for Dhoni will be to get the right team composition. To start with, deciding on the four overseas players will be tough. Pietersen, du Plessis, Smith, Mitchell Marsh, Morkel, Perera, Peter Handscomb, Adam Zampa, and Scott Boland are the overseas players in RPS.
The playing XI is likely to consist of Rahane and du Plessis opening, followed by Smith, Pietersen, Dhoni, Marsh, Saurabh Tiwary, Irfan Pathan, Ashwin, Ishwar Pandey, and Murugan Ashwin. Of course this is mere speculation at this point, but looking at the team composition it is likely that the four overseas players will be Pietersen, du Plessis, Smith, and Marsh. READ: IPL 2016, MI vs RPS: Mumbai Indians team begin title defence in IPL 9
Meanwhile, MI have a more settled look, but even there the opening combination will have to be sorted out. Lendl Simmons and Rohit Sharma would be the ideal opening pair, but the MI middle order looks a bit suspect. As a result, Rohit may have to shift down the order. With the likes of Parthiv Patel and Unmukt Chand, the other opener’s slot will not be a problem. Lasith Malinga’s absence will be a major blow for MI. Ricky Ponting confirmed at a press conference that Malinga is unlikely to play at all, much less in the early stages of the tournament. On the flip side, the injured Kieron Pollard will be fit and ready for selection.
Selecting the four overseas players for MI will be another tough ask. Simmons, Pollard, Corey Anderson, Mitchell McClenaghan, Marchant de Lange, Jos Buttler and Tim Southee are the options MI have. Simmons and Buttler seem to be certainties going in, with one of Anderson or Pollard and one of the pacers being the other two. Buttler and Pollard/ Anderson will provide firepower in the middle order, while McClenaghan/ Southee/ de Lange will lead the bowling. READ: IPL 2016: Rohit Sharma prefers to open for Mumbai Indians in the IPL 9
MI have some wonderful Indian talent as well this time around. Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah have recently become regulars for India in the T20I side, while others such as Ambati Rayudu, Patel, Chand, Vinay Kumar, Shreyas Gopal, J Suchith, and Krunal Pandya have impressive domestic resumes.
Wankhede has become one of the best pitches for batting over the last couple of years, and that trend continued even during the T20 World Cup 2016. A massive run-fest can be expected to start the tournament. Dew will be a factor so most teams would prefer chasing, but MI have a lot of experience in these conditions and have traditionally made Wankhede their fortress. MI start as favourites to win the match, but any team led by Dhoni can never be written off. The signs point to a thrilling run-fest to kick off IPL 9. READ: IPL 2016: Shane Bond praises Jasprit Bumrah for his consistent performance for his consistent performance for India
Teams:
Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma (c), Harbhajan Singh, Hardik Pandya, Ambati Rayudu, Jagadeesha Suchith, Jasprit Bumrah, Parthiv Patel (wk), Vinay Kumar, Shreyas Gopal, Nitish Rana, Siddhesh Lad, Unmukt Chand, Akshay Wakhare, Mitchell McClenaghan, Corey Anderson, Lendl Simmons, Kieron Pollard, Marchant de Lange, Lasith Malinga, Jos Buttler, Nathu Singh, Tim Southee, Krunal Pandya, Kishore Kamath, Deepak Punia, Jitesh Sharma.
Rising Pune Supergiants: MS Dhoni (c & wk), Steven Smith, Faf du Plessis, Ajinkya Rahane, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mitchell Marsh, Ashwin Murugan, Ishant Sharma, Kevin Pietersen, Irfan Pathan, Thisara Perera, Albie Morkel, Rajat Bhatia, Ashoke Dinda, Scott Boland, Peter Handscomb, RP Singh, Adam Zampa, Ishwar Pandey, Deepak Chahar, Jaskaran Singh, Baba Aparajith, Ankush Bains, Ankit Sharma, Saurabh Tiwary.
Time: 20:00 IST | 14:30 GMT
(Shiamak Unwalla, a reporter with CricketCountry, is an animal lover and comic, film and TV geek. A fast bowler at heart, he loves watching a good, low-scoring game of cricket. His Twitter handle is @ShiamakUnwalla)
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