Even if their hopes of making the playoffs are over, defending champions Mumbai Indians will be looking to make an upset as they take on play-offs chasing Rajasthan Royals, when the two sides face off in an IPL match on Monday.
Even if their hopes of making the playoffs are over, defending champions Mumbai Indians will be looking to make an upset as they take on play-offs chasing Rajasthan Royals, when the two sides face off in an IPL match on Monday. Lying second from bottom in the points tally, Mumbai have won just three of their 10 matches and have hardly looked or played like the reigning champions.
Rajasthan Royals who are sitting pretty on third in the table with seven wins in their 11 matches games; have been performing as per the expectations with some little-known players as usual contributing massively to their success. However, Rajasthan will go into the match with a loss against the Chennai Super Kings, who exposed some of their batting frailties.
Barring captain Shane Watson’s half-century, none of their other top-order batsmen contributed that day as the CSK ran through the side. It was an off day for the likes of Steven Smith, Karun Nair and Ajinkya Rahane as the trio would look to fire against a low on confidence Mumbai, who have been knocked out of the top-four perch.
The partnership of Lendl Simmons and Ambati Rayudu have been delivering the goods with half-centuries, however it’s skipper Rohit Sharma who has yet to perform on a consistent level. On the bowling front, the two teams, clashing for the first time this year evenly-matched.
Mumbai Indian’s star bowler Lasith Malinga, who is third on the highest wicket-takers’ list with 16 to his credit in this year’s IPL, will be one of the key bowlers for them. On the other hand, Rajasthan do not have a famed player to boast though 42-year-old Pravin Tambe has made quite a name for himself with his performance. The spinner is currently fourth in the highest wicket-takers list of this season with 15 scalps.
It’s going to be a battle of the equals as Mumbai, who will be looking to play for pride whereas Rajasthan’s hopes are pinned on a top-four spot.
Teams:
Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma (C), Lasith Malinga, Kieron Pollard, Harbhajan Singh, Ambati Rayudu, Michael Hussey, Pragyan Ojha, Corey Anderson, Praveen Kumar, Josh Hazlewood, CM Gautam, Aditya Tare, Apoorv Wankhade, Marchant de Lange, Krishmar Santokie, Ben Dunk, Pavan Suyal, Sushant Marathe, Jasprit Bumrah, Shreyas Gopal and Lendl Simmons.
Rajasthan Royals: Shane Watson (c), Ajinkya Rahane, James Faulkner, Stuart Binny, Sanju Samson, Brad Hodge, Steven Smith, Abhishek Nayar, Ben Cutting, Kane Richardson, Tim Southee, Unmukt Chand, Ankush Bains, Vikramjeet Malik, Rahul Tewatia, Ankit Sharma, Amit Mishra, Deepak Hooda, Rajat Bhatia, Kevon Cooper, Iqbal Abdulla, Dhawal Kulkarni, Pravin Tambe, Karun Nair, Dishant Yagnik.
