What

The opening contest of Vivo IPL 2016 will feature defending champions Mumbai Indians and new entrants Rising Pune Supergiants.

Mumbai Indians have been part of the Indian Premier League since its inception in 2008, while RPS – owned by New Rising Promoters – joined the IPL bandwagon in December 2015.

When

09 April 2016, 2000 Hrs IST

Where

Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai

Weather

Temperature: Max 32°c, Min 30°c
Humidity: Max of 60%
Wind: 13kmph

The Protagonists

Mumbai Indians will be upbeat, for they are not only title holders but will also be playing in their own backyard. Before the deadline for the player retention window, the franchise announced the decision to retain 19 of the players that did duty for them last season. Rohit Sharma, who has led the team to two IPL titles, will remain at the helm of affairs of the team, while the likes of Harbhajan Singh and Kieron Pollard are expected to play important roles in the team’s set up. Though the team will miss the services of Lasith Malinga for a brief while, they have plenty of bowling options in the dressing room. One should look out for the England wicketkeeper Jos Buttler, who is an exciting addition to an already formidable looking line-up.

The core of the Rising Pune Supergiants side are the five players the franchise opted for during the Vivo IPL 2016 Player draft – namely, MS Dhoni, Ajinkya Rahane, Ravichandran Ashwin, Faf du Plessis and Steve Smith. Among other batsmen in the squad, look out for Kevin Pietersen, who these days travels the world over as a freelance cricketer. On the bowling front, the team is expected to field a largely Indian-looking bowling attack led by Ishant Sharma and Irfan Pathan.

Trivia

In the recent past, Mumbai Indians have been slow starters; they have failed to win their opening match in the last three seasons.

The Rising Pune Supergiants captain MS Dhoni is the most experienced captain in Twenty20 cricket – he has been captain in a total of 220 T20 matches.

The Mumbai Indians all-rounder Kieron Pollard is the most-capped player in the T20 format. Friday could be a momentous occasion for the Trinidadian for he could become the first player to appear in 300 T20 matches.

The average first innings total in the four ICC World T20 2016 matches at the Wankhede Stadium was 203. The team chasing ended up victorious in three of those four matches.

What Next

Mumbai Indians head out to Kolkata to take on Kolkata Knight Riders on April 13, while Rising Pune Supergiants head to Rajkot to take on debutants Gujarat Lions on April 14.