Mumbai Indians will be up against Rajasthan Royals on Sunday at the Wankhede Stadium.
Mumbai Indians will be up against Rajasthan Royals on Sunday in Mumbai. As far as the Playoffs scenario is concerned, this is one of the most important matches in the tournament so far. With victories in the past few games, both the sides have somehow kept their hopes alive.
Rajasthan etched a brilliant win against Chennai Super Kings on Friday while MI hammered Kolkata Knight Riders in their respective previous encounters. The sides have got the momentum in their favour and would look to capitalise on it. While the home side is presently sitting at number four in the points table, Rajasthan Royals are at number 6. Both Rahane and Rohit Sharma’s side need to win all their remaining matches.
Players to watch out for:
With Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, wicket-keeper batsman Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya and Krunal Pandya, Mumbai Indians have a strong batting line-up. They have the ability to get runs on the board quickly and this was evident in the last game when Ishan struck a 21-ball 62 against KKR. In the bowling department, new recruit Mayank Markande and Hardik Pandya have caught everyone’s eye.
For Rajasthan Royals, Jos Buttler has grown to be the key batsman for them. Apart from taking his side to a win against CSK on Friday with an unbeaten-95, he also scored two fifties in the previous two matches. On the other hand, Sanju Samson showed his class in the initial stages of the tournament. If the right-hand batsman gets going, he can be ruthless.
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Gowtham has not scored big yet but he has struck runs at some crucial stages of the game. For instance, against the CSK on Friday, he smashed a couple of sixes that changed the course of the match for RR. He also struck the match-winning six for his side against Mumbai Indians. In the bowling department, Jofra Archer has been a good found for RR. He has good pace in his bowling and also maintains a decent line and length.
With five wins and ten points, MI cannot afford to lose a match with the race for the top four, specifically for the No. 3 and 4 slots, becoming tighter by the day.
If the fortunes of MI has dramatically changed in the last week, it has been much the same for the Jaipur team. Without doubt, the swashbuckling Englishman, Jos Buttler has been the story of Rajasthan Royals’ success story. The keeper-batsman has run up scores of 67, 51, 82 and 95 not out in the last four matches and vitally won the last two matches, including against Chennai Super Kings on Friday. The Royals have ten points with an inferior net run rate.
Predicted Winner: Rajasthan Royals
Teams (Squad):
Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma (C), Suryakumar Yadav, Evin Lewis, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Mayank Markande, Mitchell McLenaghan, Mustafizur Rahaman, Jasprit Bumrah, Akila Dananjaya, Ben Cutting, JP Duminy, Rahul Chahar, Sharad Lumba, Adam Milne, Siddhesh Lad, Md Nidheesh, Mohsin Khan, Anukul Roy, Pradeep Sangwan, Tajinder Singh, Aditya Tare, Saurabh Tiwary.
Rajasthan Royals: Ajinkya Rahane (C), Ben Stokes, Stuart Binny, Sanju Samson, Jos Buttler, Rahul Tripathi, D Arcy Short, Krishnappa Gowtham, Jofra Archer, Dhawal Kulkarni, Jaydev Unadkat, Ankit Sharma, Anureet Singh, Shreyas Gopal, Prashant Chopra, Sudhesan Midhun, Ben Laughlin, Mahipal Lomror, Aryaman Birla, Jatin Saxena, Dushmantha Chameera, Heinrich Klaasen, Ish Sodhi.
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