IPL 2017: Rahul Tripathi's breezy start, Lockie Ferguson's fantastic spell help RPS continue resurgence

Four wins out of the last five games is what Rising Pune Supergiant (RPS) have notched up, continuing their halfway stage resurgence. They shrugged off the disappointment of not having the services of pricey superstar Ben Stokes, and not having an adequate total to defend, to win their first ever match defending a score at the Maharashtra Cricket Association stadium. In the backdrop of the India vs Australia series, this game between the two national captains was meant to be a high pressure encounter. It turned out to be a damp squib of a show from Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) though, helping Pune to eventually win at a canter.

Here are the biggest talking points from the game:

Rahul Tripathi’s consistency

RPS have looked a transformed batting unit thanks to two players: MS Dhoni and Rahul Tripathi. With Dhoni amongst the runs again, the batting order no longer looks as short as it did at the start of the tournament. And at the top of the order, Tripathi has been responsible for the consistent breezy starts. He has now crossed 30 in six consecutive innings, and has done so at a strike rate of 150. He and Ajinkya Rahane posted back-to-back 50 partnerships in the last two games.

Though Rahane was dismissed early on Saturday, Tripathi continued to be a puzzle for the bowlers. His tactics have not changed much; he revels in pace on the ball, favours traditional cricketing shots, likes to use his feet to get to the change the length, and has been undaunted by the short ball. Yet the bowlers have been unable to dislodge him early, and he has been cashing in like a Dalal street broker.

The sluggish afternoon:

Many of Pune’s iconic retail brands, like Chitale Bandhu Mithaiwale, are closed for business every afternoon. In Pune’s Deccan Gymkhana area, all the older shops pull down their shutters for a siesta, and only re-open once the evening starts to cool.

It seemed Steve Smith had taken this part of Puneri culture to heart, as the afternoon game at the Maharashtra Cricket Association stadium seemed to slow down accordingly. After 43 runs came in the powerplay, Tripathi was dismissed in the ninth over. From the seventh to the 12th over, only one boundary was scored. The 10th over yielded just four singles, and the 11th, just two.

The wicket was slightly dry and afforded the bowlers some grip, and even Smith, his form as purple as his shirt, struggled to middle the ball.

The run rate languished at around seven an over, until Smith decided he had had enough, and hit five boundaries in eight balls. After his dismissal, the dependable Manoj Tiwary’s 44 runs ensured RPS had something to bowl to, though then it seemed inadequate.

Pace, and the lack of it:

RPS went into this game with a more balanced looking side; with Stokes out due to a muscle tear in his bowling shoulder, they included Lockie Ferguson in place of Faf du Plessis, a good move considering the ease with which Kolkata Knight Riders brushed aside their bowling in the last game.

Chances are, if you told Ferguson before the game that he would bowl four overs for just seven runs, take two wickets, and bowl a wicket maiden, he probably would have asked what high-inducing substance you were using. Yet that is exactly what the Kiwi quick did.

Bowling above 140, he brought the element of pace into an RPS attack that has relied on the lack of it. Although both his wickets were off quick deliveries, he too used his variations well. His natural short-of-good-length balls were the perfect length on this wicket, with the ball sometimes coming off it slower, making it difficult for the batsmen to time it. By the end, he had finished with 18 dot balls, which was an IPL season high.

His dismissal of Stuart Binny — to a bouncer that Binny top edged to fine leg — would have looked more at home in Test cricket; for fans used to batsmen being able to hit through the line with ease, this was a welcome change. Ferguson also had a part to play in the run out of Kedar Jadhav, although most of the credit for that dismissal must go to the batsman himself.

Snehal Pradhan is a former India cricketer, and now a freelance journalist and YouTuber. She tweets @SnehalPradhan