IPL: Pune thrash Mumbai by nine wickets in opener
The Rising Pune Supergiants got off to a great start, chasing down Mumbai Indian's 121/8 with ease.
Defending champions Mumbai Indians were given a rude shock in their 2016 Indian Premier League opener, as they were humbled by the Rising Pune Supergiants by nine wickets in Mumbai on Saturday. The Mahendra Singh Dhoni led-Pune easily chased down Mumbai's below-par 121/8 in 14.4 overs, losing only Faf du Plessis in the process.
On a difficult Mumbai pitch, Rohit Sharma's team decided to bat and collapsed to 40/5 with none of their top four managing to get past double figures. A lovely late cameo from Harbhajan Singh (45 off 30 balls) managed to get the Indians to a somewhat respectable score, as Ishant Sharma and Mitchell Marsh picked up two wickets each for Pune.
The Supergiants were hardly troubled in their chase, with both Ajinkya Rahane and Faf du Plessis putting on an opening partnership of 78. Du Plessis was dismissed for 34, but Rahane and Kevin Pietersen took the team home comfortably.