MS Dhoni showed he is not quite done yet by finishing off the Sunrisers Hyderabad in some style over the weekend, and the former captain will now look to take his form into the game against the Mumbai Indians when the Rising Pune Supergiant visit the Wankhede Stadium in IPL 2017.
Dhoni shut his critics up for a while by playing a brilliant innings against SRH to guide RPS to victory from a seemingly impossible position. Those finishing skills will be required again against this Mumbai Indians outfit, who are on a six-match winning streak and sitting prettier than pretty at the top of the IPL 2017 points table.
After such a dramatic victory – MI also had one on Saturday – it is difficult to envisage RPS making too many changes to their playing XI.
Faf Du Plessis, apart from coming in for one match when Steve Smith was unwell, has sat out for the majority of IPL 2017, and while he will be keen to get his gear on and show what he can do with the bat, it is unlikely that the South African will find a place in the playing XI for this Maharashtra Derby.
The same can be said of Adam Zampa as well, with the Australian leg-spinner having to sit on the sidelines, despite being RPS' leading wicket-taker last season, owing to Imran Tahir's sparkling form in the Indian Premier League.
Jaydev Unadkat and Shardul Thakur took a bit of a hammering against SRH, conceding 41 and 50 runs respectively in their four overs, but with RPS so thin in their bowling resources, they might get another game.
The Mumbai Indians did not bat well in their last match, managing just 142 in their 20 overs. However, their bowling was a different story, and with Mitchell McClenaghan leading the way, they actually managed to pull off a win over the Delhi Daredevils.
Ambati Rayudu is still not thought to be ready yet for selection, so the batting department should remain the same.
In the bowling, Lasith Malinga missed the last match through illness, with Mitchell Johnson playing his first game in IPL 2017.
Johnson didn't pick up a wicket, but was quite economical in his four overs, and maybe that performance might be enough to keep his place, considering Malinga has been quite expensive this season.
Confirmed playing XI:
Mumbai Indians: Parthiv Patel, Jos Buttler, Nitish Rana, Rohit Sharma (C), Kieron Pollard, Hardik Pandya, Harbhajan Singh, Karn Sharma, Mitchell McClenaghan, Mitchell Johnson, Jasprit Bumrah.
Rising Pune Supergiant: Rahul Tripathi, Ajinkya Rahane, Steve Smith (C), MS Dhoni, Ben Stokes, Manoj Tiwary, Dan Christian, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jaydev Unadkat, Imran Tahir.
