IPL, 2016 Live Cricket Score of Rising Pune Supergiants vs Mumbai Indians, 29th Match

If the popular sitcom character Chandler Bing was around to see Pune's predicament, he would say - "Can it be more bad?" Mitchell Marsh is the latest injury casualty for the Supergiants, who have already lost Kevin Pietersen and Faf du Plessis. And now following the latest setback, they welcome inter-state rivals, Mumbai Indians, who have seen a familiar script unfolding for them. A flurry of defeats but a semblance of consistency coming along.

This one promises to be fun. Welcome to Match 29 of the IPL from MCA stadium in Gahunge.

So this was interesting. For a second it appeared as if Harbhajan and Rayudu would resort to blows. The teammates, with a history of a brawl, walked towards each other with angry gesticulations after Rayudu was unable to prevent a ball from rolling away for four despite a desperate dive. Harbhajan appeared to indicate that if the other fielder Mitchell McClenaghan would have had a better chance of fielding that. Rayudu wasn't impressed.

Nevertheless, Harbhajan backed away and offered a sympathetic pat on the back to Rayudu to douse the situation.

There is not much to fault when it comes to Supergiants's batting as the likes of Ajinkya Rahane, Steven Smith and MS Dhoni have been in good touch and have made up for the absence of Kevin Pietersen and Faf du Plessis. However, the bowlers haven't complemented the fine batting efforts, which has meant that Smith's maiden Twenty20 ton against Gujarat Lions and three of Rahane's four half centuries have come in losing causes. The fact that Supergiants haven't been able to find a settled bowling line up has been hurting them for a few games now, and as Dhoni said, they 'need to crack the code quickly, else we will be on the receiving end' more times than not.

On the other hand, Mumbai Indians are now looking much more relaxed than they were at the start of the season, having hit upon the right combination. Rohit Sharma has been in good form, while Kieron Pollard's blistering knocks in the last few games come as a big boost. Jos Buttler is another key member but he hasn't quite made an impact yet, and Mumbai Indians will be hoping that he converts those promising starts to bigger scores. The bowlers too have mostly been on the mark and will be keen to continue in the same vein.

Rohit Sharma wins the toss and elects to bowl. No surprises there. They will not be making any changes. And why should they. They have a win behind them. Poor old Pune. They are struggling for form and can't seem to win these tosses as well. No Usman Khawaja yet. Only change - Scott Boland comes in for Albie Morkel.

Interesting , interesting!

Dhoni: "We have to rely on the stuff that hasn't gone well for us. In bowling there are quite a few areas where we need the changes. Maybe get those extra 5-10 runs and bowl less boundary balls. Most of the games have been close, what's important is we need that push. Mitchell Marsh has been ruled out of the tournament. Even Fleming is not well. Thankfully we don't need a replacement for a coach. In place of Albie we are playing Boland."

Mumbai Indians (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma(c), Parthiv Patel(w), Ambati Rayudu, Jos Buttler, Kieron Pollard, Krunal Pandya, Hardik Pandya, Harbhajan Singh, Tim Southee, Mitchell McClenaghan, Jasprit Bumrah
Mumbai Indians (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma(c), Parthiv Patel(w), Ambati Rayudu, Jos Buttler, Kieron Pollard, Krunal Pandya, Hardik Pandya, Harbhajan Singh, Tim Southee, Mitchell McClenaghan, Jasprit Bumrah

McClenaghan gives Mumbai the early breakthrough. Again. An atypical Rahane shot. Tries to take on the most experienced bowler of the opposition camp early. It's an ugly swipe an the ball flies off the outside edge and to third man, where Krunal Pandya settles under a skier.

A couple go off the inside edge and one beats the bat and the keeper but Pune's run-rate gets a much-needed push. Steven Smith, the centurion from the last game, has already timed a couple sweetly. Meanwhile, Saurabh Tiwary earns a reprieve as Bumrah shells a rather straightforward chance at mid-on.

A drop followed by a misfield for Bumrah and he follows that by conceding two boundaries to Saurabh Tiwary in the first over. Hasn't been the best of starts for the young speedster. Meanwhile, Steven Smith has come off the block playing his shots. RPS are going at 9 runs per over in the powerplay. Time for spin now as Krunal Pandya comes in.

This is a scintillating onslaught from Pune. Tiwary joins in the fun by clubbing Krunal Pandya while Smith hands out a similar treatment to his Krunal's younger brother in the next over. The two batsmen have been rather good at clubbing anything short towards that short boundary. Smith has just carried from the last game. The absence of du Plessis and KP appears to have freed his role at number three.