7.30 pm Heads is the call from Pune, and it's tails. Mumbai will bat
Thor: "A trivia nugget : All the three matches between RPS and MI this year have ended with a six off the last ball of the match. Smith, Harbhajan and Malinga did the honours. Whose turn is it tonight? Will it be in a winning cause? "
7.25 pm It's five minutes to the toss and so the perfect time for some team-spotting. Mumbai had left out their long-serving offspinner Harbhajan Singh in both their previous playoff matches. Will they do so again in the final? "Both he and legspinner Karn Sharma are rolling their arm over," says Arun Venugopal from the ground. "Rohit said yesterday that left-arm spinner Krunal Pandya, who seemed to be cramping in the last game, was likely to be fit. He's been bowling and fielding as well"
"It's a great chance. It's my second final. I hit the winning shot in my first final. It's a very good memory for me in my cricket career," says Pune's Manoj Tiwary. "We are very confident against Mumbai, we've beaten them three times and today is the time to give our A-games. If we can't the other three wins don't count at all. There's nothing extra that we are doing. Just following the same routine. We've been resting, and some overseas players even went to Dubai in the time off since the qualifier 1. We'd like to thank the fans for the love they've shown on social media and everywhere else. We want to win the trophy for you"
7.15 pm Here's Raj with a super spot: "Interesting to note that there is only 1 batsman in the top 5 run getters among these 2 teams(Smith) , but have 4 bowlers in the top 5 wickets list from both these teams." So the debate tips in favour of the run-savers and against the run-makers.
"Any news on the pitch? Are we expecting one that favours batsmen or one that favours bowlers?" We're waiting on those details, Anant Gururaj. But so far, in this season, Hyderabad has been a belter for the batters.
"This is my third final with Mumbai, but for the first time, I'll be playing it," Jasprit Bumrah says, "I'm still learning. I'm lucking to be with Mumbai to interact with a lot of legends. We had a good start this year, usually we are slow. We had a good momentum and we want to use it in the final. We are very excited, it's a big game, we'll give our best effort. We've lost three times to Pune, but hopefully we'll change it around."
"Wait, So were Gujarat and Pune brought in only temporarily for two years? When was this decided? Are we sure that both those teams would be dismantled? Why can't there be 10 IPL teams?" Both teams signed on with that stipulation, Mahi. And the tournament already spans two months. Ten teams would be overkill. Probably.
wcpak: "@AM : If you feel 10 teams will be a overkill, why not make two groups of five and increase the importance of every league match. Only the top two from each group go to the play offs."
7.10 pm Pune's march into the final has been a grand old story. They've won 10 out of their last 12 matches - after beginning the tournament with one of the weakest bowling attacks. That is a massive liability in T20 cricket, where run-saving and wicket-taking are skills paramount. So how has this turnaround happened? Who has led it? And will it continue? Arun Venugopal is back with the answers to two of those three questions. Oh, and he also says, "Right now the practice pitch adjacent to the match surface is strewn with measuring tapes and guidelines for the bowlers to find a certain length."
Pushkar Pawar : "When we see pune's success story this season we often see names like tripathi, dhoni, Smith or unadkat, stokes but an integral part of this line up is Manoj tiwary.. His contributions lower down the order in the initial phases always gave pune an edge over other teams"
And some video treats for you to savour as well. Ajit Agarkar, Shaun Tait, comedian Cyrus Broacha and the ESPNcricinfo staff TMZ the heck out of the Pune phenomenon.
7.00 pm In other sports news, Juventus can seal the Serie A title at home with a win against Crotone. And in a little while, Novak Djokovic will take on Alex Zverev in the Rome Masters final. You can head on over to ESPN.in to watch both the games live.
Jose...P: "I do wonder which Mitch MI team will choose for this final ditch for the cup. OZ Mitch? Or the NZ Mitch? Even if there is no hitch with the fitness of the NZ Mitch, I really think it's better for them to pitch for the OZ Mitch. Let us wait & see" McClenaghan has had some good days, and some dreadfully awful days. Both Mitches would know that feeling, yeah?
6.45 pm To bring you a feel of what it is to be at the ground, here is our correspondent / one-way carrier pigeon Arun Venugopal. "Massive cheers as Sachin Tendulkar is spotted on the ground. Rising Pune Supergiant captain Steven Smith was among the first to arrive on to the field. Spent a couple of minutes shadow-practising with no bat in hand. And in case you spot a big H sign a few feet away from the stumps at the media centre end, it was Hardik Pandya marking the top of his run-up with white paint. The loudest cheers are reserved for the man who is the last to walk onto the field: a certain Mahendra Singh Dhoni"
Mustafa Moudi: "This is the 4th time MI has reached the IPL Finals and Each of them are against the side having MSD !!"
"who will be the defending Champions next year, if RPS wins IPL 2017?" Good question, Nitish Kumar. Today is Pune's last day as a franchise. Would be a pretty fun way to say goodbye, winning the trophy of the tournament that doesn't want you.
6.40 pm We've been here before. We keep coming here. It's like Groundhog Day. But will Mumbai finally break the loop and win it all? And how have the two-time champions been tamed one of the IPL's newest teams? Here are all the details. The very same details that has put Mahela Jayawardene on guard. The Mumbai coach said their three defeats to Pune were "wake-up calls". Now that they know their bells have been rung, can they do better?
Vinod Rajpal: ""This Day, Last Year, 87 runs were rqd in 41 balls with 5 wkts in hand & this man MSD took away the game from Punjab in his special last ball finish ..., Gut feeling , he will repeat this today again if required ""
"I am passing by Uppal stadium and weather here is very cloudy," Anand warns. "Expect some showers later in d day" And the same sentiments are echoed by Arun Venugopal at the ground. But the toss is still an hour away, so let's hope that's enough time to ward off the bad weather.
6.30 pm The first cycle of the IPL - 10 years of ridiculously roller-coaster cricket - comes to an end today in Hyderabad. The 2018 edition will kick off with a massive auction. Everyone might be up for grabs. There is no news yet if any of the teams will be allowed to retain players - although it is highly unlikely that the IPL will deny the franchises some semblance of their hard-earned identity. Not every team is Delhi Daredevils.
Anyway, at the present moment, we might as well be seeing Rohit Sharma playing his last game for Mumbai. We are quite certain that MS Dhoni is playing his last game for Rising Pune Supergiant. Ladies and gentlemen, the IPL final is about to begin. Keep your vuvuzelas / handkerchiefs at the ready.
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