IPL 2013: Pune Warriors to clash with Mumbai Indians in state Derby
The Warriors' stock, low after successive defeats in their opening two games of this season, has risen following a clinically-executed seven-wicket victory with more than an over to spare against the Rajasthan Royals.
- Press Trust of India
- Updated: April 12, 2013 11:13 AM IST
Having ended their 11-match losing streak going back to the 2012 season, the Pune Warriors will now take on state rivals Mumbai Indians in what promises to be an exciting Pepsi IPL clash here on Saturday.
The Warriors' stock, low after successive defeats in their opening two games of this season, has risen following a clinically-executed seven-wicket victory with more than an over to spare against the Rajasthan Royals.
The struggling Pune franchise, which had previously tasted a victory in the cash-rich league on April 21, 2012 at Delhi against the Daredevils, would be eager to continue their new-found touch against formidable rivals MI in the Maharashtra Derby clash.
More importantly, the under-performing batting line-up clicked for the Warriors against the Royals. A little tweak in the team's composition, forced by the groin injury sustained by Marlon Samuels in the previous match, did the trick.
Opener Robin Uthappa, who made a quick-fire 32, and the sheet-anchoring Aaron Finch, who made a crucial 64 in 53 balls in his first game, laid the platform for impact player Yuvraj Singh to finish off the match in style with a belligerent 28 not out.
Uthappa, who has got the starts in all three games so far without going far, and Finch gave the innings a flying start by rattling up the 50 in the fourth over itself.
Such a start would be the need of the hour against the battle-hardened MI attack boasting of slinger Lasith Malinga, who played his first game against the Daredevils on April 9 after missing the first two games because of a back strain.
The Warriors can take heart from the fact that when the two teams previously met at the Wankhede Stadium in 2012, it was they who had the last laugh by restricting the strong MI line-up to 101.
Ashok Dinda was the star performer with a four-wicket haul.
Their bowling looks in top form, especially with the return of Malinga to pitch in with what he does well, splendid death bowling.
MI, who capped the virtually unknown Jaspreet Bumrah in the game against RCB before benching him, and then Rishi Dhawan in another game, are expected to go in with virtually the same squad that whipped the Daredevils.
A victory over the Warriors would take MI to the top of the league table currently occupied by the Challengers who clash with CSK some time later in Chennai.
Teams (from):
Pune Warriors: Angelo Mathews (Captain), Yuvraj Singh, Abhishek Nayar, Robin Uthappa, Ross Taylor, Ajanta Mendis, Manish Pandey, Marlon Samuels, Mitchell Marsh, Mithun Manhas, Parveez Rasool, Rahul Sharma, Ali Murtaza, Anustup Mazumdar, Ashok Dinda, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Dheeraj Jadhav, Eklavya Dwivedi, Harpreet Singh, Ishwar Pandey, Kane Richardson, Krishnakant Upadhyay, Luke Wright, Mahesh Rawat, R Gomez, Shrikant Wagh, Steve Smith, T Suman, Tamim Iqbal, Udit Birla, Aaron Finch.
Mumbai Indians: Ricky Ponting (Captain), Sachin Tendulkar, Dinesh Karthik, Rohit Sharma, Ambati Rayudu, Kieron Pollard, Harbhajan Singh, Lasith Malinga, Mitchell Johnson, Pragyan Ojha, Rishi Dhawan, Glenn Maxwell, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jaspreet Bumrah, Akshar Patel, Jalaj Saxena, Abu Nechim Ahmed, Aditya Tare, Aiden Blizzard, Amitoze Singh, Dhawal Kulkarni, Dwayne Smith, Jacob Oram, James Franklin, Javed Khan, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Phil Hughes, Pawan Suyal, Surya Kumar Yadav, Sushant Marathe.