Pune take big step forward

Rising Pune Supergiant gave themselves a fine opportunity to win the IPL-10 final, after restricting Mumbai Indians to a modest 129 for eight here at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium here on a steaming Sunday.
It was a damp squib of a show by the multiple champions in front a capacity crowd.

The Hyderabadis responded well to the first ever IPL final in their city. Having missed out on the chance to host the 2010 finale by virtue of being the champions (the now defunct Deccan Chargers) in 2009 due to violent protests here demanding a separate Telangana State, the city of pearls got this chance after Sunrisers Hyderabad annexed the title beating Royal Challlengers Bangalore in 2016.

Though the local side crashed out after losing the Eliminator, not a single seat in the stadium was left unoccupied as the locals began thronging stadium hours before the start of the match, braving unforgiving heat and traffic snarls. If the road leading to Uppal was teeming with vechicles, serpentine queues at entrances were common. Once inside the stadium, they screamed their heads off, cheering their favourite players form either side.

Neither team made changes to its combination from its respective last match with Mumbai opting to bat first on a surface which hardly had any demons in it. Mumbai openers Lendl Simmons and Parhiv Patel began cautiously against prolific paceman Jaydev Unadkat (2/19) and an impressive Washington Sundar who both bowled accurate lengths and hardly provided any room for the two batsmen to chance their arms. Unadkat, who has been one of the main forces behind Pune’s march to the final, removed Parthiv with his most potent strike – the off-cutter – in his second over. Two balls later, he scalped Simmons with a similar delivery when the batsman’s attempted flick ballooned back to the bowler. Unadkat flung himself to his left to pouch a low catch.  

Two wickets in four balls wasn’t the start Mumbai were looking for in their bid to end Pune’s stranglehold over them and claim their third IPL title. At 16 for two in five overs it was one of the slowest starts this season before Rohit Sharma produced an array of strokes to inject some life into the innings. Mumbai had gone without a boundary in the first 30 balls and Rohit ended the barren spell with a cover-driven four off Lockie Ferguson. The right-hander followed it up with three more in the same over to make his intentions clear.

Just when things were beginning to look up for Mumbai, Ambati Rayudu took a chance against skipper Steve Smith and ran for a single after driving one hard to mid-off. The Australian picked the ball and fired it from an acute angle to hit the bull’s-eye, catching Rayudu way short of his crease. With the little momentum snapped, Mumbai collapsed in shocking manner. Rohit’s lofted shot was brilliantly held by Shadrul Thakur, perilously close to the edge of the rope. Kieron Pollard was a man in a hurry as he fell immediately after hitting a six, attempting a similar result. Hardik Pandya couldn’t last long and Karn Sharma was run-out after being dropped by Dan Christian.

Three more wickets for 15 runs left Mumbai reeling at 79 for seven before the reliable Krunal Pandya (47, 38b, 3x4, 2x6), together with Mitchell Johnson (13 n.o.), added 50 runs for the eighth wicket to guide Mumbai to a respectable score though it was the lowest total in an IPL final by a side batting first.