In
the second doubleheader of IPL 2022, five-time champions Mumbai Indians will
confront Rajasthan Royals on Saturday at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai.
Rajasthan Royals started their campaign on a happy note with a massive 61-run
victory over SunRisers Hyderbad, and they are now second on the points table.
Contrary to the Royals’ campaign, Mumbai Indians are currently occupying the
second position from the bottom of the points table, thanks to their
four-wicket loss to Delhi Capitals in the campaign opener.
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However,
in the second match of both franchises, a good game could be expected as the
batters of both teams are in good form. Ishan Kishan of Mumbai Indians, in the
previous game, justified his Rs 15.25 crore price tag by smashing an unbeaten 81
off 48 balls. Captain Rohit Sharma has also been in good form. He had scored 41
off 32 against DC but was bamboozled by Kuldeep Yadav after getting the going.
Youngster Tilak Varma also shone for MI, playing a 22-run knock.
However,
bowling is the main area of concern for MI. They need to stop leaking runs to
get back to the winning track. In the first game, Daniel Sams proved to be
expensive since he conceded 57 runs in four overs without any success. Bowling
spearhead Jasprit Bumrah too leaked 43 runs in 3.2 overs. He also went
wicketless. Basil Thampi and Murugan Ashwin were the only positives in the MI
bowling attack.
The former champions will definitely be looking
for a comeback victory on Saturday to improve their ranking on the points
table.
On
the other hand, Rajasthan Royals have done well in every department against
SRH. Their opening duo of Jos Buttler and Yashasvi Jaiswal provided a good
start. Captain Sanju Samson slammed 55 off 27 balls. Devdutt Padikkal scored 41
while Shimron Hetmyer played a quickfire 32 off 13 to power RR to post 210.
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SRH,
in reply, struggled against Prasidh Krishna and Trent Boult. Krishna was the
first to strike and removed two top-order batters – captain Kane Williamson and
Rahul Tripathi. Boult removed dangerous Nicholas Pooran and Washington Sundar. Spinner Yuzvendra Chahal returned with 3 for
22 in four overs.
With
an in-form batting and bowling attack, Rajasthan Royals will surely challenge
mighty Mumbai Indians, who badly need a win. The only worry for RR is Nathan
Coulter Nile’s slight niggle which the pacer suffered towards the end of the last game, and he is expected to make way for James Neesham in playing XI.
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Probable Playing XI
Mumbai
Indians: Rohit Sharma (c), Ishan Kishan (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma,
Kieron Pollard, Tim David, Daniel Sams, Murugan Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Tymal
Mills, Basil Thampi
Rajasthan
Royals: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Jos Buttler, Devdutt Padikkal, Sanju Samson (c &
wk), Shimron Hetmyer, Riyan Parag, Ravichandran Ashwin, James Neesham,
Yuzvendra Chahal, Trent Boult, Prasidh Krishna
