Rising Pune Supergiant (often abbreviated as RPS) was a franchise
cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...
team based in
Pune
Pune (; ; also known as Poona, (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million ...
,
Maharashtra
Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...
, that played in the
Indian Premier League
The Indian Premier League (IPL), also known as TATA IPL for sponsorship reasons, is a men's T20 franchise cricket league of India. It is annually contested by ten teams based out of seven Indian cities and three Indian states. The leagu ...
in
2016
File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...
and as a finalist in
2017
File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...
. It was the second team representing
Pune
Pune (; ; also known as Poona, (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million ...
after
Pune Warriors India
Pune Warriors India were a franchise Twenty20 cricket team that represented the city of Pune in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The team was one of two IPL franchises from the Indian state of Maharashtra, the other being Mumbai Indians. It was ...
. The team, along with
Gujarat Lions
Gujarat Lions was a franchise cricket team based in the city of Rajkot, that represented the Indian state Gujarat in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The team played in the IPL The team, along with Rising Pune Supergiant for two season between ...
, featured as two-season replacements for
Chennai Super Kings
Chennai Super Kings (CSK) is an Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise cricket team based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Founded in 2008, the team plays its home matches at the M. A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. The team is owned by India ...
and
Rajasthan Royals
Rajasthan Royals (often abbreviated as RR) are a franchise cricket team based in Jaipur, Rajasthan, that plays in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Founded in 2008 as one of the initial eight IPL franchises, the team is based at the Sawai Ma ...
, who were suspended due to their involvement in
illegal betting by their respective owners.
The Rising Pune Supergiant franchise was owned by
RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group controlled by
Sanjiv Goenka
Sanjiv Goenka (born 29 January 1961) is an Indian entrepreneur. He is the founder and chairman of RPSG Group and an early-stage investor. With a US$6 billion asset base and US$4.3 billion revenue, this multinational conglomerate is headquarter ...
.
The team name was announced (as ''Rising Pune Supergiants'') on 18 January 2016 by Goenka in
Kolkata
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...
and Raghu Iyer was appointed CEO.
The owners changed the team name to ''Rising Pune Supergiant'' on 26 March 2017.
The team lost the
2017 IPL Final to
Mumbai Indians
Mumbai Indians are a franchise cricket team based in Mumbai, Maharashtra, that competes in the Indian Premier League and is the most successful team of the tournament with 5 titles. Founded in 2008, the team is owned by India's biggest conglo ...
by 1 run, which was the team's last game in the IPL.
However, the same owner bought another franchise
Lucknow Super Giants
Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) is a franchise cricket team based in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. They play in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The Lucknow franchise formed in 2021. Sanjeev Goenka is its principal owner. The team is captained by KL Rahu ...
in October 2021. It is now among the 10 teams of the league and take part in it.
Home ground
The Rising Pune Supergiant's home ground was the
Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium
Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium is a cricket stadium situated in the city of Pune, India besides the Pune Mumbai Expressway nestled between the hills of the Western Ghats.
It is the home venue for the Maharashtra cricket team and is ...
in
Pune
Pune (; ; also known as Poona, (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million ...
. However, controversies arose over holding
2016 IPL games in Maharashtra due to water usage of the cricket stadiums during severe drought and the
Bombay High Court
The High Court of Bombay is the high court of the states of Maharashtra and Goa in India, and the union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu. It is seated primarily at Mumbai (formerly known as Bombay), and is one of the ol ...
ordered all matches in May to be shifted out of the state. On 15 April 2016, it was reported that the Rising Pune Supergiants were considering the ACA-
VDCA Cricket Stadium in
Vishakhapatnam
, image_alt =
, image_caption = From top, left to right: Visakhapatnam aerial view, Vizag seaport, Simhachalam Temple, Aerial view of Rushikonda Beach, Beach road, Novotel Visakhapatnam, INS Kursura submarine museum, ...
as an alternate home ground.
Seasons
Sponsors and partners
Results summary
2016 Season
The Rising Pune Supergiant made an excellent start to the season, convincingly winning their first game against the defending champions,
Mumbai Indians
Mumbai Indians are a franchise cricket team based in Mumbai, Maharashtra, that competes in the Indian Premier League and is the most successful team of the tournament with 5 titles. Founded in 2008, the team is owned by India's biggest conglo ...
, by 9 wickets. However, they went on to lose their next four games - against the
Gujarat Lions
Gujarat Lions was a franchise cricket team based in the city of Rajkot, that represented the Indian state Gujarat in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The team played in the IPL The team, along with Rising Pune Supergiant for two season between ...
,
Kings XI Punjab
Punjab Kings (PBKS) are a franchise cricket team based in Mohali, Punjab, that plays in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Established in 2008 as the Kings XI Punjab (KXIP), the franchise is jointly owned by Mohit Burman, Ness Wadia, Preity Zi ...
,
Royal Challengers Bangalore
Royal Challengers Bangalore (often abbreviated as RCB) are a franchise cricket team based in Bangalore, Karnataka, that plays in the Indian Premier League (IPL). It was founded in 2008 by United Spirits and named after the company's liquor b ...
and the
Kolkata Knight Riders
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) are a franchise cricket team representing the city of Kolkata in the Indian Premier League. The franchise is owned by Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan, actress Juhi Chawla and her spouse Jay Mehta. The Knight Riders ...
. The inclusion of
Ashoke Dinda
Ashok Dinda (born 25 March 1984) is a former Indian cricketer and as of 2021 a Member of the Legislative Assembly. Dinda is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party and represents the Moyna constituency. He played cricket for Bengal and Goa in ...
, in their 6th game of the season, provided a brief inspiration as the Supergiants beat the
Sunrisers Hyderabad
Sunrisers Hyderabad (stylised as SunRisers Hyderabad, SRH) are a franchise cricket team based in Hyderabad, Telangana, India, that plays in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The franchise is owned by Kalanithi Maran of the SUN Group and was ...
by 34 runs. They lost the next two games - against the
Gujarat Lions
Gujarat Lions was a franchise cricket team based in the city of Rajkot, that represented the Indian state Gujarat in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The team played in the IPL The team, along with Rising Pune Supergiant for two season between ...
and the
Mumbai Indians
Mumbai Indians are a franchise cricket team based in Mumbai, Maharashtra, that competes in the Indian Premier League and is the most successful team of the tournament with 5 titles. Founded in 2008, the team is owned by India's biggest conglo ...
- at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune. The Supergiants were also briefly bolstered by the arrival of Australian batsmen
Usman Khawaja
Usman Tariq Khawaja ( ur, ; born 18 December 1986) is an Australian cricketer who represents Australia and Queensland. Khawaja made his first-class cricket debut for New South Wales in 2008 and played his first international match for Australi ...
and
George Bailey against the
Delhi Daredevils
Delhi Capitals (formerly Delhi Daredevils) are a franchise cricket team based out of Delhi in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The franchise is jointly owned by the GMR Group and the JSW Group. The team's home ground is Arun Jaitley Stadiu ...
at the
Feroz Shah Kotla
The Feroz Shah Kotla or Kotla ("fortress", "citadel") was a fortress built by Feroz Shah Tughlaq to house his version of Delhi city called Firozabad.
A pristine polished sandstone Topra Ashokan pillar from the 3rd century BC rises from the pa ...
and went on to win the game by 7 wickets. Pune's last game of the season was against
Kings XI Punjab
Punjab Kings (PBKS) are a franchise cricket team based in Mohali, Punjab, that plays in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Established in 2008 as the Kings XI Punjab (KXIP), the franchise is jointly owned by Mohit Burman, Ness Wadia, Preity Zi ...
, with the loser finishing at the bottom of the points table. RPS was struggling to chase down a total of 172 despite a good start from the openers and they kept losing wickets at constant intervals. RPS needed 23 runs from the last over which was bowled by
Axar Patel
Axar Rajeshbhai Patel, also spelled as Akshar Patel, (born 20 January 1994) is an Indian international cricketer who plays for the Indian cricket team in all formats of the game as a bowling All-rounder. He also plays for Gujarat in domestic cr ...
with captain
MS Dhoni
Mahendra Singh Dhoni (; born 7 July 1981) is an Indian former international cricketer who was captain of the Indian national cricket team in limited-overs formats from 2007 to 2017 and in Test cricket from 2008 to 2014. He is also the curren ...
on the crease. After a wide, four, six and two dot balls, RPS were left requiring 12 runs from the last two balls. It seemed the game was over but Dhoni hit two sixes off the last two balls. This win ensured RPS didn't finish at the bottom of the points table. At the end of the 2016 IPL, the Supergiants won only 5 games out of 14, and won only 2 of their 7 home games - 4 at the MCA Stadium in Pune and 3 at their new home ground, the
ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in
Vishakhapatnam
, image_alt =
, image_caption = From top, left to right: Visakhapatnam aerial view, Vizag seaport, Simhachalam Temple, Aerial view of Rushikonda Beach, Beach road, Novotel Visakhapatnam, INS Kursura submarine museum, ...
. They finished at seventh place in the IPL points table.
2017 Season
After the auction, Pune axed
MS Dhoni
Mahendra Singh Dhoni (; born 7 July 1981) is an Indian former international cricketer who was captain of the Indian national cricket team in limited-overs formats from 2007 to 2017 and in Test cricket from 2008 to 2014. He is also the curren ...
as captain and
Steve Smith Stephen, Steve, Stevie, or Steven Smith may refer to:
Academics
* Steve Smith (political scientist) (born 1952), British international relations theorist and senior university manager
* Stephen Smith (journalist) (born 1956), American journalist, ...
was appointed captain barely months before the start of the 2017 season.
The franchise then changed their name to Rising Pune Supergiant, removing the 's', on 26 March 2017.
Washington Sundar
Washington Sundar (born 5 October 1999) is an Indian international cricketer who plays for the Indian cricket team. He also plays for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League and Tamil Nadu in domestic cricket. He is a left-handed batsm ...
replaced
Ravichandran Ashwin
Ravichandran Ashwin () (born 17 September 1986) is an Indian international cricketer who plays for the Indian cricket team as a bowling All-rounder who bats right-handed and bowls right-arm off-break, he plays for Tamil Nadu in domestic cricke ...
who was ruled out of the tournament with a sports hernia. RPS bought
Ben Stokes for ₹14.5 Crore at the auction, making him the most expensive overseas player in the history of IPL at the time (this record was later broken when Kolkata Knight Riders bought Australian pacer
Pat Cummins
Patrick James Cummins (born 8 May 1993) is an Australian international cricketer who captains the Australian cricket team in Test and ODI cricket. He is a fast bowler and right-handed batsman. He plays domestically for New South Wales.
Cummi ...
for ₹15.5 Crore in the 2020 IPL Player Auction).
Imran Tahir
Mohammad Imran Tahir ( pa, ; born 27 March 1979) is a South African former international cricketer. A spin bowler who predominantly bowls googlies and a right-handed batsman, Tahir played for South Africa in all three forms of cricket, but ...
was recruited by RPS to replace
Mitchell Marsh
Mitchell Ross Marsh (born 20 October 1991) is an Australian international cricketer. Marsh has represented Australia in all three forms of cricket, making his debut during the 2011–12 season.
Personal life
Marsh is the second son of Geoff Ma ...
, who was once again ruled out of the tournament due to a shoulder injury. This decision proved to be extremely decisive, as Imran Tahir went on to take 18 wickets in 12 games for RPS before leaving for his national team, along with
Faf du Plessis
Francois "Faf" du Plessis ( ; born 13 July 1984) is a South African professional cricketer and former captain of the South Africa national cricket team. He is considered one of the greatest fielders of all time and is among the best all-forma ...
.
RPS once again got off to a great start in
IPL 2017 by beating the
Mumbai Indians
Mumbai Indians are a franchise cricket team based in Mumbai, Maharashtra, that competes in the Indian Premier League and is the most successful team of the tournament with 5 titles. Founded in 2008, the team is owned by India's biggest conglo ...
by 7 wickets in their first game. However, losses against
Kings XI Punjab
Punjab Kings (PBKS) are a franchise cricket team based in Mohali, Punjab, that plays in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Established in 2008 as the Kings XI Punjab (KXIP), the franchise is jointly owned by Mohit Burman, Ness Wadia, Preity Zi ...
,
Delhi Daredevils
Delhi Capitals (formerly Delhi Daredevils) are a franchise cricket team based out of Delhi in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The franchise is jointly owned by the GMR Group and the JSW Group. The team's home ground is Arun Jaitley Stadiu ...
and
Gujarat Lions
Gujarat Lions was a franchise cricket team based in the city of Rajkot, that represented the Indian state Gujarat in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The team played in the IPL The team, along with Rising Pune Supergiant for two season between ...
followed and it seemed like Pune were repeating what took place last year. However, results picked up and RPS won 7 out of their next 8 games, all of them by close margins, with the top performers being
Rahul Tripathi
Rahul Ajay Tripathi (born 2 March 1991) is an Indian international cricketer who made his debut for Indian cricket team in January 2023 against Sri Lanka. He also plays for Goa in domestic cricket and Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier Le ...
,
Jaydev Unadkat
Jaydev Dipakbhai Unadkat (born 18 October 1991) is an Indian professional cricketer who has played for the Indian national team. He plays for Saurashtra in domestic cricket. He represented India in the Under-19 Cricket World Cup in 2010. In Ma ...
,
Ben Stokes,
MS Dhoni
Mahendra Singh Dhoni (; born 7 July 1981) is an Indian former international cricketer who was captain of the Indian national cricket team in limited-overs formats from 2007 to 2017 and in Test cricket from 2008 to 2014. He is also the curren ...
and
Imran Tahir
Mohammad Imran Tahir ( pa, ; born 27 March 1979) is a South African former international cricketer. A spin bowler who predominantly bowls googlies and a right-handed batsman, Tahir played for South Africa in all three forms of cricket, but ...
. But a 6-day gap left them rusty and RPS lost to Delhi Daredevils by 7 runs, forcing them to win their last game vs Punjab to qualify. In their do-or-die game vs Punjab, RPS skittled them out for 73 and won comfortably by 9 wickets, thus finishing in second place with 18 points and qualifying for the play-offs.
RPS faced the Mumbai Indians in Qualifier 1 at the
Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, with a win securing them a spot in the final. RPS batted first and posted a slightly below-par total of 162–4, with 41 runs coming from the last two overs, thanks to well-paced innings from
Manoj Tiwary and
Ajinkya Rahane
Ajinkya Madhukar Rahane (born 6 June 1988) is an Indian international cricketer and former captain of Indian team in all formats, who has played for Indian cricket team in all formats as a batsman. He currently captains Mumbai in Ranji trophy. R ...
and a late surge from
MS Dhoni
Mahendra Singh Dhoni (; born 7 July 1981) is an Indian former international cricketer who was captain of the Indian national cricket team in limited-overs formats from 2007 to 2017 and in Test cricket from 2008 to 2014. He is also the curren ...
.
Washington Sundar
Washington Sundar (born 5 October 1999) is an Indian international cricketer who plays for the Indian cricket team. He also plays for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League and Tamil Nadu in domestic cricket. He is a left-handed batsm ...
ripped apart the middle order of the Indians and finished with career best figures of 3–16 in 4 overs.
Shardul Thakur
Shardul Narendra Thakur (born 16 October 1991) is an Indian international cricketer. He is a bowling all-rounder who bats right-handed and bowls right arm medium pace.
Domestic career
Thakur was initially criticized for his lack of height for ...
and
Jaydev Unadkat
Jaydev Dipakbhai Unadkat (born 18 October 1991) is an Indian professional cricketer who has played for the Indian national team. He plays for Saurashtra in domestic cricket. He represented India in the Under-19 Cricket World Cup in 2010. In Ma ...
chipped in as Pune beat the Mumbai Indians comfortably by 20 runs.
RPS faced the Mumbai Indians for the fourth time in the season, in the final at
Hyderabad
Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...
. This was Rising Pune Supergiant's last game in the IPL. RPS had a psychological edge over Mumbai, considering RPS had beaten them on all three meetings in the season.
Rohit Sharma
Rohit Gurunath Sharma (born 30 April 1987) is an Indian international cricketer and the current captain of the Indian cricket team. Widely considered as one of the best opening batter of all time, he plays as a right-handed batsman for Mumbai ...
won the toss and decided to bat first.
Jaydev Unadkat
Jaydev Dipakbhai Unadkat (born 18 October 1991) is an Indian professional cricketer who has played for the Indian national team. He plays for Saurashtra in domestic cricket. He represented India in the Under-19 Cricket World Cup in 2010. In Ma ...
and
Adam Zampa
Adam Zampa (born 31 March 1992) is an Australian international cricketer who represents Australian cricket team in limited-overs cricket.
Youth career
As a child, Zampa bowled medium pace, but Cricket Australia had placed restrictions on how m ...
took key wickets as Mumbai crumbled to 79-7 but a late surge from
Krunal Pandya
Krunal Himanshu Pandya (born 24 March 1991) is an Indian international cricketer who has played for Indian cricket team but currently plays for Baroda in domestic cricket and Lucknow Super Giants in the IPL. He is an all-rounder who bats left- ...
meant that Mumbai finished with a slightly below par score of 129–8. RPS looked comfortable after the powerplay but over-cautious batting cost them dearly.
Ajinkya Rahane
Ajinkya Madhukar Rahane (born 6 June 1988) is an Indian international cricketer and former captain of Indian team in all formats, who has played for Indian cricket team in all formats as a batsman. He currently captains Mumbai in Ranji trophy. R ...
scored runs easily but captain
Steve Smith Stephen, Steve, Stevie, or Steven Smith may refer to:
Academics
* Steve Smith (political scientist) (born 1952), British international relations theorist and senior university manager
* Stephen Smith (journalist) (born 1956), American journalist, ...
struggled and things took a turn when Rahane got out for 44.
MS Dhoni
Mahendra Singh Dhoni (; born 7 July 1981) is an Indian former international cricketer who was captain of the Indian national cricket team in limited-overs formats from 2007 to 2017 and in Test cricket from 2008 to 2014. He is also the curren ...
arrived but was quickly removed for 10 and Pune were left requiring 11 runs from the last over with Smith and
Manoj Tiwary at the crease. Tiwary hit a four on the first ball off
Mitchell Johnson
Mitchell Guy Johnson (born 2 November 1981) is a former Australian cricketer, who played all forms of the game for his national side. He is a left-arm fast bowler and left-handed batsman. He made his Test debut for Australia in November 2007 ...
's bowling and RPS looked to have the trophy in the bag. But Smith and Tiwary got out off consecutive deliveries which left RPS requiring 7 runs from 3 balls. A single from
Washington Sundar
Washington Sundar (born 5 October 1999) is an Indian international cricketer who plays for the Indian cricket team. He also plays for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League and Tamil Nadu in domestic cricket. He is a left-handed batsm ...
and a double from
Daniel Christian
Daniel Trevor Christian (born 4 May 1983) is an Australian professional cricketer with Aboriginal ancestry. He is considered to be a Twenty20 cricket specialist and has played for franchises all over the globe. Christian is known as a powerfu ...
meant RPS required 4 runs from the last ball. Unfortunately, RPS could only complete two runs before Sundar was run out. Thus, Mumbai Indians won by 1 run to get their 3rd IPL title.
Records
Most Runs
* Source: Cricinfo
Most Wickets
* Source: Cricinfo
References
{{RPG Group
Indian Premier League teams
Cricket in Maharashtra
Cricket in Pune
Sports clubs in India
Cricket clubs established in 2016
2016 establishments in Maharashtra
Lists of defunct sports teams
RPSG Group