Forgettable debut for MS Dhoni-led Rising Pune Supergiants

Injuries coupled with poor form of the bowlers, meant that Supergiants had a forgettable debut as they just about managed to avoid the wooden spoon. © IPL

When Rising Pune Supergiants bid the lowest price in the reverse-bidding system for the two new Indian Premier League (IPL) teams, the Sanjiv-Goenka owned franchise knew that it would get to pick the first player in the IPL draft, from a 50-player pool. When Mahendra Singh Dhoni was Supergiants' first choice in the draft process that was held on December 15, the appointment of Stephen Fleming as coach of the team, less than a month later, came as no surprise. The brains that made Chennai Super Kings a successful franchise, were brought together to re-create that magic, albeit in a different jersey, with a different set of players.

But, as it transpired, there was no magic this time. Injuries coupled with poor form of the bowlers, meant that Supergiants had a forgettable debut as they just about managed to avoid the wooden spoon, which was only possible because of a Dhoni-special in their final encounter, well after they had lost out on the play-offs race.

Matches: 14 | Won: 5 | Lost: 9 | Position: 7th

KEY POINTS

1. Injuries leading to combination conundrum

Kevin Pietersen, Faf du Plessis, Steven Smith, Mitchell Marsh, Thisara Perera, Albie Morkel, Scott Boland, Peter Handscomb and Adam Zampa - these were the nine overseas players who were initially part of the Supergiants squad for IPL 2016. For the first few matches, Pietersen, Smith and du Plessis were the mainstays while the Dhoni-led side juggled around with the likes of Marsh, Perera and Morkel for the all-rounder's slot. When Pietersen was ruled out after playing only three matches, the top-order had to undergo a change, and then more changes were in order when du Plessis followed suit. Steven Smith, subsequently promoted up the order, made up for their absence. But Supergiants suffered massive blows when Marsh, followed by Smith, had to call it curtains to their IPL 2016 campaign, leaving Supergiants acutely short-staffed. Usman Khawaja and George Bailey were later roped in, but the combination problem was never-ending. With changes to the team happening constantly, little could be done to prevent a downward spiral.

2. Seam bowling unit

While Supergiants saw Ashok Dinda coming up with his best performance in a season, the rest of his Indian seam-bowling colleagues disappointed, which played a big role in why things went wrong for the team in their maiden stint. Dinda, along with Rajat Bhatia, picked up 17 wickets between them and also had good economy rates. But the likes of RP Singh, Ishant Sharma and Irfan Pathan hardly made an impact with the ball, giving Dhoni an additional headache. When the skipper turned to the overseas all-rounders, there was disappointment on that front too. Marsh looked impressive with the ball, but his early exit meant that Perera and Morkel had to shoulder most of the responsibilities. Perera did get amongst the wickets, but he also went for a lot of runs, with an economy rate close to 10. Morkel turned out to be the biggest disappointment as he was used for only five overs in the two matches that he played and he ended up with only two wickets at an economy of 13.2.

3. The Ashwins' impact

With ten wickets, Ravichandran Ashwin ended up as the third-highest wicket-taker for his team in the ninth edition of IPL. However, what those numbers do not reveal is the fact that the leading spinner of the side was hardly picking up wickets for most part of the season, and consequently often even under-bowled by his captain. That he wasn't making an impact was pretty clear when he was used more as a containing option for the second half of the tournament while Adam Zampa was utilised as the strike option. The other Ashwin - Murugan - had a roller-coaster IPL as he was mostly on the expensive side and didn't prove as effective as when he started in the season. He also picked up an injury that kept him out of action during the business end of the tournament.

4.Inability to close out games

Despite finishing one short of the last position, one thing that stands out in Supergiants' below-par showing is their net run-rate. Supergiants' +0.015 is the fourth best NRR at the end of the first stage of IPL 2016, showing that they were involved in quite a few close finishes, but what was lacking was their ability to hold the nerve in pressure situations.

With 480 runs at an average of 43.63 and six fifties, Rahane was by far the team's best batsman even as most others struggled to get going. © IPL

HITS

Adam Zampa: He only got to play five games, in the latter half of the tournament courtesy several injuries. However, the leg-spinner grabbed the opportunity with both hands and became only the second bowler in IPL history to pick up a six-wicket haul. He ended the tournament as Supergiants' highest wicket-taker with 12 scalps.

Ajinkya Rahane: He was the epitome of consistency when he notched up one half-century after another, only to see them end up in a losing cause. With 480 runs at an average of 43.63 and six fifties, Rahane was by far the team's best batsman even as most others struggled to get going.

MISSES

Usman Khawaja: While he joined the team only in the latter half of the tournament, Usman Khawaja did get to play as many as six matches and had an opportunity to leave a mark in his maiden IPL season. However, he failed to convert his promising starts into bigger contributions, ending up with a personal best of 30 and an average of 21.16.

Thisara Perera: One among only five Supergiants players to have played 10 or more IPL matches, Perera got ample opportunities to showcase his skills. He did pick up wickets, but his nine scalps came at an average of 36.22 while his economy rate was just a touch below 10. When it came to his batting, Perera was again a disappointment as he registered a highest of 34 and ended up with an average of 21.42 for his 150 runs in 12 innings.

NUMBERS AND TRIVIA

- This is the third time a Pune-based IPL team is finishing second last on the points table in four seasons. In the earlier seasons, they had finished last.

- Rising Pune Supergiants are the only team in this IPL not to win a single game batting first, losing all seven.

- Adam Zampa's 6 for 19 against Sunrisers Hyderabad is the second best bowling figures in IPL and the highest in a losing cause for any team in T20s.

- Seven bowlers took a wicket for Rising Pune Supergiants in their first over for the team and five of them off their very first ball.

WHAT TO EXPECT IN IPL 2017

In what has been a constant search to find the right combination, Rising Pune Supergiants did find some consistent performers who could form the nucleus of the team in the following edition. Zampa, Dinda and Bhatia, along with a rejuvenated R Ashwin and an all-rounder like Marsh, would make a good bowling unit. With Faf du Plessis and Steven Smith as the overseas batsmen along with Indian names like Rahane, Tiwary and Dhoni, Supergiants would have a line-up that can rise up to the challenges, fitness permitting.