Who will win MI vs RPS, IPL 2017 Qualifier 1?
With the league phase done and dusted, the tenth edition of the Indian Premier League now moves on to its business end as Mumbai Indians and Rising Pune Supergiant prepare for their clash in the Qualifier 1. The high-voltage match is scheduled to be played on May 16 at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. Live action will begin at 8 PM local time.
MI vs RPS Qualifier 1: Where to watch/Live streaming
TV channels: Set Max, Sony Six, Sky Sports
Live streaming: Bet365, Hotstar, Star Sports
Toss Prediction
Toss is going to be crucial at the Wankhede. Since the results of three of the previous four matches here have gone in favor of the side batting first, the team that wins the toss in this match might prefer to bat first. We predict Mumbai Indians to win the toss in this first qualifier as they have won the toss at this venue five times out of seven this season.
Read on for team previews, latest betting odds, betting tips and prediction for MI vs RPS, IPL 2017 Qualifier 1....
MI Team News & Playing 11
Team News
Ambati Rayudu played a match-winning knock in the last game against the Kolkata Knight Riders and he could be retained for this game in place of out-of-form Nitish Rana. Harbhajan Singh is likely to come back while Tim Southee could be given a nod ahead of Lasith Malinga.
Key Players
Rohit Sharma and Kieron Pollard have both hit three fifties each this season and they will be the key players with the bat for the Mumbai Indians. The skipper had smashed one of his fifties in Mumbai's last encounter against RPS at this ground and one can expect another good knock from him when the two teams meet again at the same venue. Jasprit Bumrah will be the bowler to watch out for. He was impressive in both the earlier games against RPS and batsmen have found it tough to score runs off him this IPL.
Recent Form
Mumbai Indians edged out the Kolkata Knight Riders in their previous match to finish at the top of the IPL 2017 league table with 20 points. They will be going into the playoffs after having won four of their past six league matches.
MI Predicted Playing 11
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RG Sharma (c), LMP Simmons, PA Patel (wk), AT Rayudu, KA Pollard, HH Pandya, KH Pandya, Harbhajan Singh, TG Southee, MG Johnson, JJ Bumrah
KKR Team News & Playing 11
Team News
The absence of premier allrounder Ben Stokes who has left to fulfil his national commitments will hurt Rising Pune Supergiant. The rest of the lineup is expected to remain unchanged for this match.
Key Players
Steven Smith and Rahul Tripathi have scored runs consistently for the Rising Pune Supergiant and they will be the key figures in the team's batting lineup for this match. Smith had earlier notched up an unbeaten 84 in Pune's first game against MI and the team will expect him to get going in this big game. Jaydev Unadkat has been the standout performer for RPS with the ball. With 21 wickets so far in the season, he is only behind SRH's Bhuvneshwar Kumar on the wickets charts. He has taken 9 wickets in his last three games and is looking in threatening form at the moment.
Recent Form
Rising Pune Supergiant have not only made their place in the playoffs after thrashing the Kings XI Punjab in their last game but have shot up to the second spot on the IPL 2017 leaderboard with 18 points. With five wins in their previous six league matches, they will be taking plenty of momentum with them into this first qualifier.
RPS Predicted Playing 11
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SPD Smith (c), AM Rahane, RA Tripathi, MK Tiwary, MS Dhoni (wk), DT Christian, Washington Sundar, SN Thakur, Lockie Ferguson, JD Unadkat, A Zampa
Team Form in Last Five Matches (most recent first)
MI: W L L W W
RPS: W L W W W
MI vs RPS Head to Head
Rising Pune Supergiant and Mumbai Indians have gone head-to-head four times in the Indian Premier League with the former leading the scoreline 3-1. RPS pipped MI in both their games against them this season and they also have a big psychological advantage of having beaten them in both the matches that have been played between the two sides at the Wankhede.
MI vs RPS Betting Odds
Rising Pune Supergiant have done really well to finish second on the league table given their shaky start at the beginning of the season. And despite having beaten the Mumbai Indians in both their face-offs, RPS find themselves outsiders at 2.28 with Betfair and 2.20 with Bet365. This probably has a lot to do with the departure of key player Ben Stokes who was an integral part of the team. MI have been ruthless in their approach all through this IPL and they also have the luxury of playing at their fortress. The hosts therefore start as favorites to win the first qualifier at 1.77 with betfair and 1.66 with bet365.
MI vs RPS Prediction
Rising Pune Supergiant will gain a lot of confidence from having a strong head-to-head record against the Mumbai Indians in addition to winning five of their last six games away from home. However, the loss of Ben Stokes who was exceptional in all the three departments - batting, bowling and fielding - is going to hurt the team's chances.
MI on the other hand will be at full strength and will be playing in favorable conditions. They have a lot of firepower in their side and are captained by Rohit Sharma who had led them to title wins back in 2013 and 2015. RPS may have done a double over MI this season, but we feel that the hosts are still better placed to win this first qualifier and make the finals day.
Final Verdict: Back Mumbai Indians to beat Rising Pune Supergiant in the Qualifier 1 of IPL 2017 at 1.77 with betfair and 1.66 with bet365.
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