Preview
Rajasthan Royals come off the back of deflating losses and are effectively struggling to qualify for the play-offs at this stage. Their hopes were further dented by Kings XI Punjab’s win over Sunrisers Hyderabad last night. The Royals are up against a ruthless Mumbai outfit that has managed to notch up impressive wins this season.
Since losing to Chennai Super Kings in the first match of this tournament, Mumbai Indians haven’t lost in full time this league. Both their losses since then came in Super Overs. Despite missing Rohit Sharma last game, they smacked Chennai Super Kings with an exuberant bowling display.
At Abu Dhabi where KKR and DC fought last night in the afternoon game, Mumbai will hope to continue their juggernaut like run this IPL ssason. The bowling will once again be in focus with Rajasthan having a less than convincing top and middle-order.
Team news and predicted XI
MI are expected to field the same team unless Rohit Sharma is fit for this encounter. Saurabh Tiwary could make way for an extra bowler in Digvijay Deshmukh or even Jayant Yadav or Dhawal Kulkarni just to test out options.
RR, on the other hand, might have a few changes up their sleeve. The Robin Uthappa experiment might end today. If it does, Yashasvi Jaiswal might get another go at the top. Mayank Markande could also come in to bolster the spin department.
MI: Quinton de Kock (wk), Rohit Sharma/Saurabh Tiwary/Chris Lynn, Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Kieron Pollard (c), Krunal Pandya, Nathan Coulter-Nile/Prince Balwant Rai, Rahul Chahar, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah
RR: Ben Stokes, Robin Uthappa, Sanju Samson (wk), Steven Smith (c), Jos Buttler, Riyan Parag, Rahul Tewatia, Jofra Archer, Shreyas Gopal, Ankit Rajpoot, Kartik Tyagi
Fantasy tips
- Trust bowlers on the Abu Dhabi wicket – Jofra Archer and Jasprit Bumrah are likely to pick up wickets and can be your captain and vice-captain.
- Quinton de Kock, Jos Buttler, Steven Smith and Suryakumar Yadav are absolute must-haves in the batting.
- Jos Buttler has a good record vs Mumbai Indians are might be worth a punt as captain.
- Rahul Tewatia will be up against Jasprit Bumrah when batting and Kieron Pollard and Hardik Pandya when bowling. It’s safe to avoid him for this game.
- Ben Stokes will enjoy the hard bounce on the surface at Abu Dhabi with bat and ball. He might have been off colour last game but could turn up with the bat today against Mumbai’s hit-the-deck bowlers.
Fantasy XI
Quinton de Kock
Jos Buttler
Steven Smith
Suryakumar Yadav
Robin Uthappa
Kieron Pollard
Ben Stokes
Krunal Pandya
Trent Boult
Jasprit Bumrah
Jofra Archer
