MI vs RR Preview: Mumbai’s chance to register their first win?

Winless Mumbai Indians (MI) lock horns with unbeaten Rajasthan Royals (RR) at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Monday, April 1.

Hardik Pandya has received a lot of flak from Rohit Sharma’s fans after he replaced the legendary batter as the captain of the Mumbai Indians ahead of the 2024 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The Baroda all-rounder has also faced criticism for some of his decisions during the first two games of Mumbai in IPL 2024. He will be captaining the five-time champions for the first time at the Wankhede Stadium.

Mumbai Indians started with a gut-wrenching six-run loss against Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad. In their second game, they conceded the highest team total in the history of the competition, 277/3 against Sunrisers Hyderabad. Hardik and Co. fought hard with the bat but eventually lost by 31 runs.

Meanwhile, Rajasthan Royals have hit the ground running in IPL 2024. They started with a 20-run victory against Lucknow Super Giants. In their second game, Sanju Samson and Co. got the better of Delhi Capitals by 12 runs. With two wins from as many games, Rajasthan are placed at No. 3 on the points table.

Mumbai and Rajasthan have faced each other in some memorable encounters over the years. Aditya Tare’s six off James Faulkner to take Mumbai to the playoffs in IPL 2014 is the first thing that comes to mind. Fans will be hoping to see another memorable clash between the two teams. MI are ahead on the head-to-head scoreline by a 15-12 margin. Last year, they faced each other only once. Mumbai chased down a 213-run target in the last over as Yashasvi Jaiswal’s sensational century went in vain.

Pitch Report

Over the years, the Wankhede Stadium has produced some fantastic surfaces for batters. The new ball might move around for a couple of overs but batters can make merry after that. 59 matches have been won by chasing teams, while teams batting first have won on 50 occasions. The average first-innings total is 169.

Probable Playing XI

Mumbai Indians: Ishan Kishan (WK), Rohit Sharma, Naman Dhir, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya (C), Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Piyush Chawla, Gerald Coetzee, Jasprit Bumrah, Kwena Maphaka Impact Player – Vishnu Vinod

Rajasthan Royals: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson (c & wk), Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Shimron Hetmyer, Ravichandran Ashwin, Trent Boult, Yuzvendra Chahal, Avesh Khan, Sandeep Sharma Impact Player – Nandre Burger