IPL 2016: Fantasy Championship guide RPS v MI

Rising Pune Supergiants vs Mumbai Indians

Transfer out: Glenn Maxwell/DR Smith, Amit Mishra, Manan Vohra

Transfer in: Steve Smith, Jasprit Bumrah, Krunal Pandya (uncapped player)

The last game in Maharashtra this season is going to be the Maharashtra derby and it is surely the most fitting farewell the Maharashtra cricket fans could get.

RPS were tipped to be CSK 2.0 but they have done nothing to do justice to that tag. They seem to have just too many allrounders in their squad and are clearly missing specialists.

Mumbai seem to be a settled side now, with all their players contributing to victories. Their only concern is the opening combination, which hasn’t scored a lot of runs together. Martin Guptill could be a good choice but I don’t think they’ll drop Tim Southee or Kieron Pollard owing to their stellar performances in the last few games.

The Pune track seemed to be an enigma at the start of the tournament but it has molded itself into a flat, high scoring wicket. We can expect another run feast today.

Now, I already have Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane and Murugan Ashwin in my team for this game

Steve Smith would be my first choice for this game. All the talk about him not being suited for the shortest format of the game have gone out of the window after his performance last time round. Also, he is one of the most dependable batsman in the circuit (along with Virat Kohli and Kane Williamson). Get him in!

Jos Buttler was supposed to be the shining light of Mumbai’s campaign this year but he has failed to live up to the expectations. Also, for this game, he will up against the Ashwin duo and thus, I don’t see him making much of an impact.

Jasprit Bumrah has been bowling really well at the death but he hasn’t been getting a lot of wickets. All that could change against a lower middle order with no specialist batsmen. But I bring him in only if Mumbai bowl first.

For the uncapped player, I go with Krunal Pandya especially after seeing that Mumbai’s team management have started sending him at number 4 on a regular basis.

Batting captain: Rohit Sharma (if Mumbai bat second)/Steve Smith (if Pune bat second)

Bowling captain: Jasprit Bumrah (if Mumbai bowl first)/Murugan Ashwin (if Pune bowl first)

RPS v MI match preview – IPL 9, Match 29 RPS v MI Preview: Maharashtra derby encounter in Pune