Anxiety causes chaos, it causes the entropy in the system to rise, forces people to do things out of the ordinary just to get rid of the restlessness that creeps into the setup. Individuals who conquer anxiety are the ones who are able to fight the opposition head on, all others are left fighting anxiety itself, leaving no room to focus on the opponent.
The one who deals with anxiety better will flourish, the one who doesn’t, will stumble. And flourishing in these big games is what separates the great from the good. Both Mumbai and Pune would be hoping to conquer anxiety tonight, if they can do that, half the battle would be in the bag.
Mumbai Indians have had a brilliant IPL this far. They have pulled all the right strings, have been clear with their ideas, and have executed them to perfection on the field. They rested their core during the last game and thus a rejuvenated bunch should be taking the field today at the Wankhede, where the home support would be itching to inspire their team to reach the IPL finals.
Also Read: Best moments from the IPL so far
Rising Pune Supergiant have had a mixed bag season. But a late flourish has helped them finish 2nd, thereby providing them with two shots at the final. Ben Stokes’ resurgence, Smith’s solidity, Dhoni’s wicketkeeping brilliance and Unadkat’s trickery have been all on display at different times during the league campaign, and they would be hoping that all of them comes together tonight, to help them edge past the Mumbai Indians.
Let’s get to business now!
IPL Fantasy Tips on the next page:
IPL Fantasy League(Fantasy Guide for MI vs RPS)
Four games, Ten substitutions; the playoff stage allows us to make 3.33 substitutions per game.
Now, the basic strategy is to not stack up your team with players from one team itself, as group stage form does not necessarily translate into good playoff performances(Read the anxiety bit at the start of the article).
So, I’ll be going in with a minimum of 8 and a maximum of 9 players from tonight’s game.
I’ll get in my safest options first.
Jasprit Bumrah’s death bowling skills have been on the rise ever since he burst onto the scene with that quirky action. Fast forward 2 years and he is probably the best death bowler in the world right now. In a crunch game such as this, you just need to get in a bowler of his capability.
The last time Steve Smith took the field in Wankhede against the Mumbai Indians he produced a surreal performance, scoring an unbeaten hundred to take his side through. He is probably the most dependable batsmen out of all the batsmen on display tonight, get him in!
Jaydev Unadkat has been a revelation this season, bamboozling the batsmen with his slower ones and keeping it tight at the top and at the death. On the basis of his form and his superlative skill, you just can’t keep him out.
Rohit Sharma bumped himself up to the openers slot in the last game, and while he couldn’t exactly deliver a superlative performance, you need to pick the big players in these big games. Opening the batting, he can take full toll of the powerplay overs and most importantly he gets the opportunity to face the maximum number of deliveries. Also, he wouldn’t be under too much pressure, as he is when he comes in at number 4. Get him in!
If the Mumbai deck plays as it did in the last game, you can’t leave Lendl Simmons out, you just can’t. While he does have him limitations as a batsman, he can milk the bowling to all parts of the ground when playing on a flat deck. Get him in!
Mitch McCleneghan has had a brilliant IPL season, picking up wickets at regular intervals for his side and delivering amazing performances during the death overs. You can’t leave out bowlers that feature regularly during the death overs because they can fetch you a lot of cheap wickets.
Ajnikya Rahane has looked out of sorts in the entire tournament, finding it difficult to score during the powerplay, and if he somehow survives that period, holing out during the middle overs, trying to up the ante. But you can never really rule out a player of his caliber and class. The big stage, a flat deck and a wounded Rahane could be the perfect recipe for mayhem at the Wankhede tonight.
Krunal Pandya has for long now been one of the most important cogs in the Mumbai outfit, bowling those crucial middle overs and striking the ball a long way during the death. Draft him in, he could be your trump card for the day.
Rahul Tripathi has been in scintillating form this season, scoring quick fire 30’s for his side and getting them off to breezy starts in almost every game. I am getting him in purely on the basis of his form, as he could easily be bundled out by the superior Mumbai Indians bowling attack, but I feel it’s worth the risk.
Robin Uthappa is probably the most secure wicketkeeper pick from all the ones that will be participating in the playoffs. The fact that Sunil Narine did not have a good outing the last time round could force KKR to fiddle with their batting order once more and maybe send Gambhir and Uthappa one spot above in the batting order. Batting at number 3 and keeping wickets is enough for Uthappa to warrant a place for himself in my side.
Bhuvaneshwar Kumar would be my final pick for the playoff stage, and I don’t really think I need to justify his selection here.
Keiron Pollard has been in some decent form in the last few games for Pune and with Unadkat being the only likely candidate to trouble him, you could go in for him instead of Krunal or Rahul.
Captain: Rohit Sharma/Steve Smith(whoever bats second)
Fandromeda Fantasy Tips on the next page:
Fandromeda(Fantasy Guide for MI vs RPS)
4 games, 12 substitutions(8+4 free subs); thus you can make 4 transfers per game.
With Fandromeda giving us a little more leeway with respect to substitutions, I would be getting in 10 players from this match into my side.
My player picks would be exactly the same as that in the IPL Fantasy League section, with the addition of Keiron Pollard. Pollard has been deployed in that number 5 role now and on a flat deck can completely take the game away from the opposition, even if he faces just 20 balls. Get him in, he could bonkers tonight.
Batting Star: Rohit Sharma/Steve Smith(whoever bats second)
Bowling Star: Jaydev Unadkat/Jasprit Bumrah(whoever bowls first)
