Mumbai Indians vs Rajasthan Royals

Mumbai Indians have been rusty in the first 6 games. They haven’t looked convincing apart from the game against Chennai Super Kings. They had close finish versus Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Sunrisers Hyderabad and some individual heroics from big Kieron Pollard against Kings X1 Punjab to bail them out of the trouble but they have won 4 out of their 6 games.

Rajasthan Royals never look like they are themselves. They always start the tournament as an underdogs no one really fancy them to make it to the top 4 but they have always proved the critics wrong by showing some exceptional character to be in the top 4 in the previous editions of IPL. They have not been their best in this edition. They just have one win out of their 6 games and it came against the bottom of the table side Royal Challengers Bangalore.

Key Players for Mumbai Indians:

Suryakumar Yadav is going to be the key for Mumbai Indians at the top of the order because Rohit Sharma hasn’t found his touch yet in the tournament. Suryakumar Yadav’s role in the squad has been like a sheet anchor who carries the team till the through the mid overs. He has looked in great touch in his 30’s and 40’s but he hasn’t been able to make it big score to make it more clinical but Mumbai will definitely need him to be on the wicket.

Hardik Pandya has always been the trump card for the galacticos of IPL. He has been the find of the IPL. He can deliver 4 Overs and can get you runs at the pace of knots. His innings against the RCB and CSK shows what talent he is. He is the one to watch out for against RR in Wankhede.

Jasprit Bumrah is as good as anyone or he is the best in the IPL so far. He has not only been consistent but he has been the spine of Mumbai’s bowling attack for some years now. If you need anyone who can win matches for you then this guy is right at the top 2 or 3 best players in the world. The pace in the wicket of Wankhede will be the key.

Key Players for Rajasthan Royals:

The only shinning stone in Rajasthan squad this year has been Jos Buttler. He has been in great form for RR and has scored loads of runs at the top order. He was clinical against the CSK but did not finish the game off. He would have single-handedly won the game against the Kings X1 but Ashwin got him mankading. Mumbai Indians would love to see him back in the dugout as soon as possible.

RCB have not bought local lads in the RCB team but RR has looked for talent in Karnataka and exploited them against their home team. Shreyas Gopal has been the found of this season for RR. He got big 3 wickets against RCB which eventually won them the game. He can also bat as we saw in the last game where he scored 19 of just 7 balls in the lower order.

Steven Smith has been the main concern for RR. He hasn’t been in the best o the form. He hasn’t got any rhythm in the tournament. His strike rate of 110 has been the lowest in this season so far.

RR has to address this to make a comeback in the last 8 games.

Where you can watch the game live: Wankhede Stadium, MumbaiTime: 16:00 IST, April 13, 2019

On TV: Star Sports network

Probable X1:Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma (c), Quinton de Kock, Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Kieron Pollard, Krunal Pandya, Hardik Pandya, Rahul Chahar, Alzarri Joseph, Jasprit Bumrah, Jason Behrendoff

Rajasthan Royals:Ajinkya Rahane (c), Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson, Steve Smith, Ben Stokes, Rahul Tripathi, K Gowtham, Shreyas Gopal, Jofra Archer, Dhawal Kulkarni, Jaydev Unadkat