RPS have had additional preparation time for the Grand Final, thanks to their victory over Mumbai in the first Qualifier earlier in the week, Mumbai’s defeat meant that they had to face Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in Qualifier 2 on Friday, in order to secure their own place in the final.
RPS failed to qualify for the knockout phase in 2016, the debut season in the IPL, but finished second on the ladder this campaign, with nine wins and five defeats. Including victory in the Qualifier, RPS have now won six of their last seven fixtures.
Jaydev Unadkat has taken 22 wickets for RPS, despite appearing in only 11 fixtures, while the leg-spinner Imran Tahir has 18 victims to his credit. Their run scorers are led by Australian skipper Steven Smith and Rahul Tripathi, who have scored 421 and 388 runs respectively.
Mumbai finished the regular season at the top of the ladder, with 10 wins and four losses, ensuring that they had a second chance in the knockout phase to secure their place in Sunday’s final.
On Friday in Bangalore, the Indians claimed a comfortable victory over KKR, dismissing them for just 107, with Karn Sharma taking 4-16. Mumbai going on to win the game by 6-wickets with over five overs remaining.
Parthiv Patel and Kieron Pollard have both scored close to 400 runs for Mumbai, while their leading bowlers are Mitchell McClenaghan with 19 wickets and Jasprit Bumrah with 18.
RPS have won four of the five meetings between the sides in the IPL.