Rohit Sharma will take on the field against the Rajasthan Royals one year older, with one more year of smashing bouncers into the stands, leading IPL-winning campaigns and scoring big tons under his belt. The Mumbai Indians captain turned 35 on Saturday and what better way to celebrate the occasion than scoring the first IPL 2022 victory for his side at the DY Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai. 

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The India opener and captain has been under pressure for several reasons. For one, MI, the most successful side in the IPL, have failed to win a single game this year. Sharma himself has been struggling for runs. He has scored 153 runs this season at an average of 19.13. His best is 41 and strike rate is 126.44.

A 35-year-old Rohit Sharma is carrying the weight of India’s World Cup hopes. The T20 tournament will be held in Australia later this year and the skipper’s form will be crucial if the Men in Blue want to win their second title. 

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Sharma was Mumbai Indians’ highest run-scorer last year (381 in 13 games). He finished with 332 in 2020 and 405 in 2019. To reach anywhere close to a 350-run season, he will need to start delivering soon. 

The Rajasthan Royals are in top-form this season. They are second on the points table with six wins in eight games. Yuzvendra Chahal, whose leg-spin is expected to trouble Rohit Sharma, is  the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with 18 scalps. Former Mumbai Indians opener Jos Buttler has already hit three centuries and leads the orange cap standings with 499 runs. 

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Squads:

Rajasthan Royals: Shubham Garwal, Dhruv Jurel, Kuldip Yadav, Kuldeep Sen, Tejas Baroka, Anunay Singh, KC Kariappa, Rassie Van der Dussen, Nathan Coulter Nile, Jimmy Neesham, Daryl Mitchell, Karun Nair, Obed McCoy, Navdeep Saini, Ravichandran Ashwin, Trent Boult, Shimron Hetmyer, Devdutt Padikkal, Prasidh Krishna, Yuzvendra Chahal.

Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma (c), Anmolpreet Singh, Rahul Buddhi, Ramandeep Singh, SuryakumarYadav, Tilak Verma, Tim David, Arjun Tendulkar, Basil Thampi, Hrithik Shokeen, Jasprit Bumrah, Jaydev Unadkat, Jofra Archer, Mayank Markande, Murugan Ashwin, Riley Meredith, Tymal Mills, Kartikeya Singh, Daniel Sams, Dewald Brevis, Fabian Allen, Kieron Pollard, Sanjay Yadav, Aryan Juyal and Ishan Kishan.