IPL 2022: MI wins toss, elects to bowl first against Rajasthan Royals

Birthday boy and Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma won the toss against Rajasthan Royals and elected to bowl first.

“What we have seen over the course of the tournament, it suits us. We like to chase. We have a couple of changes. Tim David and Kumar Kartikeya come in for Brevis and Unadkat. Preparation has been good, most of it has been done before the tournament. Hopefully, we have some fun in the middle, that’s what we have been missing. We want to try and see how we enjoy ourselves. It’s important to stick together as a group,” Rohit said after winning the toss.

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Sanju Samson, RR skipper, said, “We are happy to set a target, we have done that 7-8 times already. We have been playing some good cricket, it’s easy be to be complacent, but we are taking this game as a really important one.”

The Mumbai Indians’ IPL 2022 season has come to an end. At the moment, there are much too many questions than answers.

Did they spend their money wisely at the auction? Did they shot themselves in the foot by overpaying for Jofra Archer, who was unlikely to play this season? Why haven’t you demonstrated faith in Tim David after making such a high bid for him? Is there a way to get Ishan Kishan‘s form back on track? Is his auction price – a whopping INR 15.25 crore – causing him emotional distress?

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Then there’s Rohit Sharma, who is in a baffling situation. What happened to his form? Is Kishan’s bad form influencing his style of play on the opposite end? How long will he support a struggling Kieron Pollard, a franchise legend?

There isn’t anything bothering the Rajasthan Royals right now in terms of cricket. Everyone was wondering how they’d cope without Jos Buttler’s services until last week. They did just fine, and even beat Royal Challengers Bangalore, thanks to a superb hand from Riyan Parag, whom they’ve supported through thick and thin. It doesn’t appear to be a big deal that they’re only using six expert batters on a regular basis.

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The bowling attack has looked as threatening as they come, and they’ve fired in tandem, making them look like genuine challengers to win the tournament. A win on Saturday will maintain them in the top two, and with luck, first.

Teams:

Rajasthan Royals (Playing XI): Jos Buttler, Devdutt Padikkal, Sanju Samson(w/c), Daryl Mitchell, Shimron Hetmyer, Riyan Parag, Ravichandran Ashwin, Trent Boult, Prasidh Krishna, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Sen

Mumbai Indians (Playing XI): Ishan Kishan(w), Rohit Sharma(c), Tim David, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Kieron Pollard, Hrithik Shokeen, Daniel Sams, Jasprit Bumrah, Kumar Kartikeya, Riley Meredith