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WHAT’S AT STAKE:
RR - Rajasthan Royals need a victory to keep up with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) who are two points ahead of them in the fourth spot. Sanju Samson’s men also require a major push in the net run-rate column since KKR’s is well ahead of them.
MI - It’s very simple for the Mumbai Indians (MI). Lose and they’ll be knocked out. A win though still won’t be enough as their net run-rate is the worst among teams in the mid-table logjam. They need big victories in their remaining two fixtures.
MI were aiming to become the first team in IPL history to make it a hat-trick of championship wins. However, their batsmen just haven’t turned up in the UAE. They have lost four out of five games after the resumption of the season, with the last of their defeats coming against table-toppers Delhi Capitals (DC).
While their bowlers have done well, their top-order hasn’t really fired. Rohit Sharma, Quinton de Kock & Suryakumar Yadav have all been short of runs. Even when they got starts, none of them could really make it count with a big score, putting the middle and lower order under pressure.
Their batting woes can be highlighted by the fact that none of their batsmen are among the top 10 run-getters this season. Captain Rohit Sharma, their top-scorer in IPL 2021, only has a highest score of 43 in the UAE leg.
With the trio of Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult & Nathan Coulter-Nile bowling well, the only change Mumbai are expected to make is to bring back Rahul Chahar in place of Jayant Yadav. Meanwhile, Ishan Kishan, who was benched two games ago, continues to sit out with Saurabh Tiwary in decent form for Mumbai.
Rajasthan on the other hand were phenomenal in their last game against the Chennai Super Kings. Even though they made as many as four changes for the game, they managed to get over the line despite an ordinary bowling performance.
It was the two Mumbai men who won them the game, with Yashaswi Jaiswal & Shivam Dube both cracking sensational half-centuries as they chased down 190 for victory. Rajasthan will be hoping their batsmen can emulate a similar performance against Mumbai’s bowling attack.
Both teams desperately need the two points but there can only be one winner on the night. It is now or never as the battle for the final playoff spot heats up.
