Match Details.
What
The Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals will be locked in a keen tussle when they come up against each other in Match 47 of VIVO IPL 2018. Both teams have five wins and six losses, and whoever walks away with the two points in this match will have a distinct advantage over the other in the race to the playoffs.
The Mumbai Indians have staged an incredible turnaround from a hopeless situation they were once in. After posting just two wins from eight matches, the defending champions were on the brink of elimination. But they’ve since posted three consecutive wins to stay alive in the race to the playoffs. MI have momentum with them and they will want to cling on to this habit of winning.
The Rajasthan Royals have had a stop-start kind of a season. Ten days into the season, they were in the top half of the table, but gradually slipped to the floor of the standings. Wins against Kings XI Punjab and Chennai Super Kings helped them lift off from the bottom of the table and has kept them alive in the competition. The race to the playoffs is going to be fiercely contested, and RR need to capitalise on the momentum of the two wins behind them.
When
13 May 2018, 2000Hrs (IST)
Where
Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
Impact Batsmen
MI and RR have batsmen at the top who are capable of landing the early blows. Suryakumar Yadav has excelled in his new role as opener; the 27-year old is MI’s top run-getter and he will look to add more to what is already his most successful IPL season. Yadav will have fond memories of the Rajasthan Royals bowling attack, for he scored a career-best 72 the last time he played against them. Jos Buttler has been in scintillating form since being moved to the top of the RR line-up; the Englishman has scored half-centuries in his last four innings – even bettering his career best T20 score twice in two matches.
The two captains – Ajinkya Rahane and Rohit Sharma – will also be expected to make big scores. Both batsmen have grown up playing at the Wankhede Stadium and have a very good record at the venue; Rohit Sharma has scored the most IPL runs at the venue, while Rahane averages 44 in 5 IPL matches he has played at the Wankhede Stadium.
Impact Bowlers
The Mumbai Indians will expect their pace trio of Mitchell McClenaghan, Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya to do the bulk of the damage with the ball. Hardik, with 16 wickets against his name, leads the pack at the moment, while Bumrah and McClenaghan have 12 wickets apiece.
Jofra Archer has only featured in 6 of the Rajasthan Royals’ 11 matches, yet he is already the team’s top wicket-taker. The 23-year old will have fond memories of playing against the Mumbai Indians; he made his IPL debut against them, and picked up 3-22, making an instant impact. The off-spinner K Gowtham has been impressive too; he has not only picked up the important wickets early on, but has been pretty economical with the ball too.
Team Head to Head
Overall: Matches – 17, Mumbai Indians won – 10, Rajasthan Royals won – 7
At the Wankhede Stadium: Matches – 5, Mumbai Indians won – 4, Rajasthan Royals won – 1
Trivia
The Rajasthan Royals have a 1-4 win-loss record on the road this season.
Since his promotion to open the innings, Jos Buttler has contributed 46.6% of the Rajasthan Royals’ runs.
The Rajasthan Royals captain Ajinkya Rahane has the poorest record at the coin toss this season; he has won the toss only thrice in 11 matches.
What Next
For Mumbai Indians: Home fixture Vs. Kings XI Punjab, May 16
For Rajasthan Royals: Away fixture Vs. Kolkata Knight Riders, May 15
Mumbai Indians v Rajasthan Royals
MATCH: Mumbai Indians