IPL 2022: Mumbai Indians win toss, opt to bowl against Rajasthan Royals

Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma won the toss and decided to bowl first against Sanju Samson’s Rajasthan Royals at the DY Patil Stadium, Mumbai in Saturday’s first match. Mumbai Indians are playing with the same team that lost against Delhi Capitals in their IPL 2022 campaign opener on March 27 (Sunday). 

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Rohit Sharma did not cite any particular reason for his decision to bowl first. But he said that he decided to field first looking at the trend as the chasing side winning matches in the ongoing season.

RR skipper Samson said that he is happy to bat first.

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What did the captains say? 

Rohit Sharma: No particular reason. It is a good pitch, we are seeing a trend in the tournament, you have a score in front of you and you know what to do as a batting group. Dew is not going to be a factor. We just felt it is a good pitch, lets have a score in front of us and see what we do as a batting group. We are here to correct our wrongs. Every game gives us an opportunity to do that. We are a young team and learning from every game is what we are trying to do. Same team.

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Sanju Samson: We have to be happy with that (batting first). We would also have bowled on this wicket, being an afternoon and a different venue, but happy to bat. Chatter in the camp is to be a bit smarter. We are playing different teams in different conditions, different venues, so it is all about understanding the demands and applying your game plan accordingly. Standards have to be kept throughout the tournament. We did a good job in the auctions to get a very strong squad.

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Head-to-head record

In the history of IPL, both teams played each other 25 times. Mumbai Indians have the upper hand over RR as they won 13 matches against RR’s 11. One match ended in no result. However,  RR have won 5 matches against MI’s 3 since 2018. 

Pitch report: This is the third game at the DY Patil Stadium. Today’s match will be played on a fresh new pitch. The new pitch looks like a batting paradise. A big score is expected from the team batting first. Bowlers may get help if they hit the right length. 

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Playing XI

Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma(c), Ishan Kishan(w), Anmolpreet Singh, Tilak Varma, Kieron Pollard, Tim David, Daniel Sams, Murugan Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Tymal Mills, Basil Thampi

Rajasthan Royals: Jos Buttler, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson(w/c), Devdutt Padikkal, Shimron Hetmyer, Riyan Parag, Ravichandran Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Trent Boult, Navdeep Saini, Prasidh Krishna