Calcutta: The tenth edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) has come down to its final match and it will be a battle between the top two teams of this year.
Mumbai Indians and Rising Pune Supergiant will cross swords in the marquee match in Hyderabad on Sunday. While Rohit Sharma's Mumbai Indians were the table-toppers after the league stage, the Steve Smith-led Rising Pune finished second.
It thus appears to be the ideal final.
However, the road to the final from the play-offs were not the same for the two teams. While Rising Pune clinched their final berth in one shot, getting the better of Mumbai Indians in Qualifier 1, Rohit's men had to wait till Qualifier 2 to get the ticket.
Some would even see the big match as a battle between Mumbai and Pune - in other words, a 'Maharashtra Derby'. But fact is, the match is much more than that.
For the Mumbai Indians, it is an opportunity to become the first team in IPL to win the title three times. Mumbai Indians, Kolkata Knight Riders and the Chennai Super Kings have all been two-time champions. So Rohit and his men would like to script a first on Sunday.
For Rising Pune, it would be a massive achievement if they go on to lift the trophy in only their second year in the competition. That too after finishing second from the bottom last year. So they too have the chance to script an amazing story of a turnaround.
Interestingly, Rising Pune have won all the three meetings between the teams this year. But the captains, Smith and Rohit, sought to play down the head-to-head record between the teams.
"Obviously, we can take a little bit of confidence from that record. But in the end, a final is a final and it comes down to that game and who plays best on that day," Smith said in the pre-match media conference.
Rohit, on the other hand, said: "We have not had a great history against Rising Pune. They have been playing some really good cricket throughout the tournament. It's just that we were not good on those days.
"Tomorrow, we got to make sure that we play better and we play good cricket and focus on what we need to do as a team.
"If all those things have been looked after, the result will take care of itself. You need to concentrate on the process rather than thinking too far ahead."
Rohit is not worried that some of the key players could not live upto the billing consistently.
No one would have given Rising Pune much of a chance after they lost three of their first four matches. Yes, the team had big names in Smith, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Ben Stokes, but somehow they were not finding the right rhythm. But thereafter they turned things around and won eight of their next ten games.
Smith has led his team from the front. Not only has he captained his boys admirably, he has also been the best batsman for the team. With 421 runs from 14 games, he would be a very vital man in their batting line-up.
Another performer for Rising Pune has been Manoj Tiwary. The Bengal batsman has been a steady provider of runs in the middle order and has often pulled the team out of a crisis.
The likes of Dhoni and Ajinkya Rahane are tried and tested customers, and come the big match, they know how to step up their performance.
But the story of the season for Rising Pune has been young and uncapped opener Rahul Tripathi. The right-handed batsman has been a revelation, taking on some of the most reputed bowlers in contemporary cricket and despatching them with disdain to give his team solid starts.
Rising Pune, at least on paper, have been a little weakened with the departures of some of their biggest stars. The likes of Stokes, Imran Tahir, Faf du Plessis have had to report for national duty. But having said that, the way they overpowered Mumbai Indians in Qualifier 1, it proved that Rising Pune remain a strong unit.
In the bowling department, a lot will be depending on left-arm pacer Jaydev Unadkat and off-spinner Washington Sundar. Both have emerged as successful bets with the ball for captain Smith.
The Mumbai Indians have a team that can match Rising Pune's prowess. Captain Rohit himself, along with Parthiv Patel, Ambati Rayudu, Lendl Simmons and Kieron Pollard are big threats with the bat. And not just them, the Pandya brothers - Hardik and Krunal - too have emerged as top all-rounders.
Bowling-wise, Mumbai Indians perhaps are a stronger side, with the likes of Mitchell Johnson, Lasith Malinga and Jasprit Bumrah leading the attack.
Harbhajan Singh have been ignored of late, and with Karn Sharma putting up a stellar performance against the Kolkata Knight Riders in Qualifier 2, it would be interesting to see what XI Rohit prefers on Sunday.
