Players to look out for: MI vs RPS: First Qualifiers

The 10 edition of the IPL has reached the playoffs stage. This is the only IPL that has seen scores above 220 and scores below 50. It has been the season with the most scores below 100. At the same time, it has also seen young and budding talents like Rishab Pant and Sanju Samson score hundreds and smash the cricket ball with some fashion.

With only four matches left in the tournament, all of the qualified teams will look to put their best foot forward. Mumbai has occupied the top of the table for the most part of the season. Whereas on the other hand, we have seen the Pune team pull strings together and rise from the 6 to the 2 position. The first two defeats for the Mumbai team came against Pune when the former was looking insuperable.

Mumbai’s unbeaten run for six matches was broken by the Pune team and since then the performance from Mumbai has not been up to that class. They have lost 2 of their last 3 matches which are a matter of concern for the table leaders. The Pune team will have to deal with the absence of Ben Stokes who has been instrumental in the bowling attack against Mumbai taking 3 wickets in 2 appearances.

Here we take a look at the key players to look out for in the first playoffs match of IPL 10:

Mumbai Indians:

1. Kieron Pollard

This was an undoubted entry into the list. He has had a very impressive season for the Mumbai Indians with the bat with 362 runs. He is the highest scorer for the MI this season with 3 fifties. He has been known to play well under pressure. In the 1 Qualifiers of 2013, he smashed 41 off just 17 deliveries. He one of the few players who has constantly maintained a strike rate of above 140. His current form seems destructive for the opponent after he smashed 50 off just 24 against the KXIP.

1. Rohit Sharma

Rohit Sharma has been the backbone for the Mumbai Indians for several seasons now. Though he started slow this season with some disappointing performances, he still had the persistence to recover. The last time the MI met the RPS, he scored a well-paced half-century against the strong RPS bowling attack. In the 2015 finale, Rohit showed the most composure of all the players in the MI dugout and lead them to the title victory for the second time. His ability to perform out of nowhere is what can help Mumbai jump to the finals.

1. Hardik Pandya

The underdog in the Mumbai team, Hardik Pandya has surpassed many of his teammates to make this list. He has had an impressive stint with the bat. However, his performance cannot be judged by his highest scores or averages as he is a lower order batsman. What really exemplifies his capacity is his strike rate of 160. He has time and again proved his worth as an all-rounder in the MI team. He has accumulated 216 runs and 6 wickets this season for his side. He played against RPS in their first match this season and smashed 35 off just 15 to take MI’s score to 184.

Rising Pune Supergiants:

1. Ajinkya Rahane

Rahane started this season with some fine batting performances. He played a vital role in both the matches against MI this season. Mitchell McClenaghan, who is MI’s highest wicket-taker this season has been smashed with a strike rate of 156.6 by Rahane whereas, he strikes at 116 against other bowlers. His calm and steady style of play will be important for the RPS side to have a strong start of the innings against the table leaders.

1. Steve Smith

The captain of the RPS side for this season, also their highest run-getter. Smith was the sole hero of the 185 run-chase against MI earlier this season where he scored 80 off 54. This current Australian captain has made 420 runs in this IPL and is fifth in the race for the orange cap. He has played promising innings in the last few matches for the RPS and looks in good shape for a power-packed knock he is best known for. He would also have to careful at the crease as he would be the player the MI team will have done the most of the homework on.

1. Jaydev Unadkat

Another inevitable entry to the list is the RPS pacer Unadkat. His 5-wicket haul against the Sunrisers Hyderabad helped the RPS to restrict them to 136 chasing a meagre 148. He is currently second in the race for the purple cap and would want to get hold of it. His recent performances against all the teams have been promising with a low average of 13.28. He surely would be a key weapon in the RPS armoury to take down the batting giants of the MI team.