The tenth edition of the Indian Premier League will see another Maharashtra Derby, this time in the all-important final, when Rising Pune Supergiant take on Mumbai Indians for the trophy in Hyderabad on Sunday.

This is Mumbai’s fourth final and Pune’s maiden appearance in the summit clash. While the Supergiant side took the direct route to Hyderabad, beat their final opponents in the first Qualifier, Mumbai had to take the longer route via Bangalore and the second Qualifier versus Kolkata Knight Riders.

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Pune started the tournament slow, with only one win of their first four matches, but followed it up with nine wins in their next 11 matches to finish second. Table toppers Mumbai, on the other hand, had a diametrically opposite run in the league stages, winning nine of their first 11 matches, and only two in their next five.

While on paper the two teams look balanced and well matched, Pune hold a slight mental edge as they have beaten Mumbai thrice this season, including the season opener and Qualifier. But Mumbai are two-time champions and have the still have a large portion of the squad that was part of the two victorious campaigns.

For Pune, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who will be playing a record seventh IPL final, will be a crucial player in the final along with captain Steve Smith. Smith will be banking on Dhoni’s experience with an aim to emulate Shane Warne, Adam Gilchrist, David Warner – the Aussies who have lifted the silverware. Pune were also boosted by the solid performances by emerging Indian players such as Rahul Tripathi and Washington Sundar.

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Mumbai’s strength through the season has their squad depth, where some player has always stepped up when given a chance. When Jos Buttler left, they had Lendl Simmons to fill up for him. In the bowling department, Mitchell McClenaghan could cool his heels with Mitchell Johnson in the reserves. Additionally, there were the contributions of young Indian players such as Nitish Rana and Karn Sharma that got them through.

Time: 8 pm
Venue: Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad
TV: Sony Max, Sony Six, Sony ESPN and their HD Channels
Head-to-head since 2016:
Played: 5
Rising Pune Supergiant: 4
Mumbai Indians: 1

Rising Pune Supergiant

  • Pune hold a mental advantage over Mumbai as they have beaten their state neighbours all three matches the two have played in this edition of IPL, including the first Qualifier at their home stadium Wankhede. 
  • Pune’s bowling has been one of their biggest strengths this season, they have an overall economy rate of 7.93 this season, which is the best among all teams.
  • The toss will be crucial for both teams, but for Pune it has an added advantage of history. Pune has gone on to win the match on each of the five occasions captain Steve Smith has won the toss.

“In the end, finals cricket is finals cricket. It comes down to who plays best on that day. I think both our teams have played some really good cricket to get this far in the tournament. I am sure the game tomorrow is going to be not an easy one.” – Steve Smith

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Squad: Steve Smith (c), Ajinkya Rahane, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Ashok Dinda, Mayank Agarwal, Faf du Plessis, Ankit Sharma, Baba Aparajith, Ankush Bains, Rajat Bhatia, Deepak Chahar, Rahul Chahar, Dan Christian, Lockie Ferguson, Imran Tahir, Jaskaran Singh, Usman Khawaja, Saurabh Kumar, Ben Stokes, Washington Sundar, Milind Tandon, Manoj Tiwary, Adam Zampa, Jaydev Unadkat, Ishwar Pandey, Rahul Tripathi, Shardul Thakur.

Mumbai Indians

  • Mumbai have the big match experience having played three finals and won the title twice before, in 2013 and 2015 and are looking to become the first team to win three IPL titles. In fact, skipper Rohit Sharma, Kieron Pollard, Harbhajan Singh and Ambati Rayudu, have all been part of both victorious campaigns. 
  • Mumbai’s batting may have fluctuated this season, but they have made it count, especially when setting totals. They have the best death overs scoring rate in IPL 2017 with a run rate of 10.72.  

“They have been playing some really good cricket and it’s just that we haven’t been playing too well on those days. That’s the reason we lost those games. Tomorrow we’ve got to make sure we’re better and we play good cricket and focus on what we need to do. If all those things are looked after results will take care of themselves.” – Rohit Sharma.

Squad: Rohit Sharma (captain), Kieron Pollard, Lasith Malinga, Harbhajan Singh, Ambati Rayudu, Jasprit Bumrah, Shreyas Gopal, Lendl Simmons, Vinay Kumar, Parthiv Patel, Mitchell McClenaghan, Nitish Rana, Siddhesh Lad, Jagadeesha Suchith, Hardik Pandya, Jos Buttler, Tim Southee, Jitesh Sharma, Krunal Pandya, Deepak Punia, Saurabh Tiwary, Nicholas Pooran, Mitchell Johnson, Karn Sharma, Asela Gunaratne, Krishnappa Gowtham, Kulwant Khejroliya.