RR vs MI IPL 2019 preview: Can Mumbai topple Rajasthan too?

Mumbai Indians, true to their tradition have spiked up after a slow start. Their bowlers proved their class by restricting Delhi the other night and now with six wins in nine games they are looking all set to seal the play-off spot.

On the other hand, the play-off spot is going farther away from Rajasthan Royals and they need a miraculous effort to land in the top-four of the points table.

Once again the contest will be between Rajasthan’s batsmen and Mumbai’s bowlers while the duel between Archer and Hardik Pandya is worth looking forward to.

Venue:

In the four matches player at Jaipur in this season of Indian Premier League, three have been won by team batting second.

There are runs to be scored as the pitch can be trusted but the batsmen need to be wary of the bowlers that can take the pace off the ball.

Form guide:

Barring Buttler, it is a sad story for Rajasthan’s batting so far. Gopal and Archer are the shining lights in the bowling department but Rajasthan’s problem is the failure of their team to weave a combined effort.

The last time we faced MI, this man picked up 3⃣ important wickets! ?

How many wickets is he gonna claim tomorrow? ?#HallaBol pic.twitter.com/0PMCopdy29

— Rajasthan Royals (@rajasthanroyals) April 19, 2019

Mumbai meanwhile is doing well thanks to the blazing form of Hardik Pandya. With Rohit, de Kock and Pollard making crucial runs and Bumrah and Malinga stepping up the team looks in fine touch. And now Chahar and Krunal’s form has given them an edge.

Key numbers:

• In 22 matches played between the two teams, Mumbai have won 11 while Rajasthan has won 10. However, RR have dominated Mumbai in the recent times. In the last five matches Rajasthan has four times.

• The Sawai Mansingh stadium, venue for today’s encounter however favors Mumbai. The franchise has won five of the seven matches played here against RR.

Also read: KKR vs RCB Dream11 Grand League Team

Players in focus:

After scoring a hundred against Sunrisers, Sanju Samson has scored just 72 runs in his next four outings. He failure at number three has piloted Rajasthan’s horrendous run in Indian Premier League season 12 but he can turnaround things against Mumbai.

He has 396 runs against Mumbai, the second most by an RR batsman and has strike rate of 141.94, a lot better than his career strike rate (128.71).

https://twitter.com/mipaltan/status/1119163731777183744

An impressive economy of 6.50 and an average of 23.83 reflects the value of Rahul Chahar who is leading Mumbai’s spin bowling department.

The spinner picked three wickets against Delhi and is high on confidence. Watch him out against Buttler who has struggled against leggies.