It was expected that
the addition of two new franchises, and the resultant dilution of
talent, would rob the IPL of its biggest draw card - its
competitiveness. A week-and-a-half into the event, however, things have
turned out quite the opposite: just four points split the ten-team
field. All sides have experienced victory and defeat, the big-ticket
franchises have lost to newly-formed ones and, so far, no team is a sure
pick for the knockouts.
Pune Warriors
are one of the teams that have out-performed. At first sight, their side
looked weak on the bowling front, and their batting seemed to lack the
overseas class of other sides. Yet, they have delivered through
uninhibited aggression, a Twenty20 trait rarely seen in the IPL, where
sides grapple with the big differences in quality between their players.
Pune don't worry about shielding weak links - they attack from the
outset, through Jesse Ryder's enterprise, and through their new-ball
bowlers' relentless search for early wickets.
Their seamers,
however, looked helpless at the first sight of a flat track, failing to
defend a big score against Delhi Daredevils. They should have a Plan B
for the Wankhede that witnessed a similar high-scoring heist when Kochi
Tuskers upstaged Mumbai Indians with a perfectly calibrated chase. Until
that game, Mumbai's attack gunned their opponents for cheap scores, and
their in-form top order chased without fuss. It is a template that Pune
prefers to follow as well. With little to separate the sides, the war
of the western franchises could well be decided by the battle of the
coin.
Team talk
Despite the
Kochi reversal, Mumbai are likely to retain their combination, including
their weakest link, left-arm spinner Ali Murtaza. On the other hand,
Pune might consider bringing in bowling reinforcements. Murali Kartik
could return to the side, though Yuvraj Singh's bowling form might work
against the inclusion of another left-arm spinner. Mitchell Marsh and
Nathan McCullum are also waiting in the wings, but the four overseas
players' rule could make it tougher for them to break in.
Predict the playing XIs for this match. Play ESPNcricinfo Team selector.
In the spotlight
Stepping into
Zaheer Khan's shoes is a daunting task for anyone but, so far, Munaf
Patel has managed without a problem. Even when Kochi were brutalising
the rest of Mumbai's attack, Munaf escaped with figures 3-0-15-0. Will
he continue to earn respect by keeping it short of a length and getting
it to nip this way and that off the seam?
Two men in the
Pune camp will be smacking their lips at the prospect of facing Munaf's
pace-less fare. Yuvraj Singh loves to swat length balls through the leg
side, while Robin Uthappa shuffles into line and lofts clean and
straight. Will Munaf get them to mis-hit one of those big shots?
Prime numbers
Sachin Tendulkar
is still second on the list of highest run-getters in the IPL's
history. With a half-century against Kochi, Suresh Raina has opened up
some breathing space between him and Tendulkar
Among players with more than 100 runs this season, Jesse Ryder has the highest strike-rate (200)
The chatter
"They are coming
off a loss as well, so it will be a good game. There is a good rivalry
between Pune and Mumbai, and fans will definitely come from Pune, so it
will be a good crowd."
Pune coach Geoff Marsh looks forward to a close match
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