Jaipur, April 22: Five times title winners meet inaugural edition champions on Monday at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium, here in the 38th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024.
Well, when Mumbai Indians (MI) face Rajasthan Royals (RR) at the latter's fortress in the Pink City, the match can go either way, despite past records.
The reason being, Mumbai are known for strong comebacks after a dull start to the championship and Rajasthan on the other hand, have often let go the initial advantages after steady starts.
This season, RR lead the Points Table with six wins from seven games and MI have three wins from seven outings.
In their last match-up between the two sides at Mumbai three weeks ago, RR beat MI comfortably by six wickets with 27 balls to spare.
The two teams have played each other 29 times in the IPL. The Royals have been victorious on 13 occasions, with the MI winning 15. One match was abandoned.
MI v RR head-to-head 29-
Mumbai Indians: 15
Rajasthan Royals: 13
Abandoned: 1
Match time: The match starts at 7:30 PM IST (2:00 PM GMT) with the toss taking place half an hour before the match i.e., 7:00 PM (1:30 PM GMT)
Match venue: Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur
Live broadcast of RR v MI match on television in India: RR v MI match will be broadcast live via Star Sports Network.
Live stream in India: The live streaming of RR v MI will be available on JioCinema.
Squads:
Mumbai Indians: Ishan Kishan(w), Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya(c), Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Mohammad Nabi, Gerald Coetzee, Shreyas Gopal, Jasprit Bumrah, Akash Madhwal, Nuwan Thushara, Kumar Kartikeya, Piyush Chawla, Naman Dhir, Luke Wood, Harvik Desai, Shams Mulani, Arjun Tendulkar, Nehal Wadhera, Shivalik Sharma, Anshul Kamboj, Dewald Brevis, Kwena Maphaka.
Rajasthan Royals: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson(w/c), Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Shimron Hetmyer, Rovman Powell, Ravichandran Ashwin, Trent Boult, Avesh Khan, Kuldeep Sen, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jos Buttler, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Shubham Dubey, Navdeep Saini, Nandre Burger, Sandeep Sharma, Keshav Maharaj, Tanush Kotian, Donovan Ferreira, Abid Mushtaq, Kunal Singh Rathore
But can Rajasthan maintain their winning streak? If they can, then certainly they will inch closer to the play-offs rather steadily and safely.
But if Mumbai can pull up a win at RR's home ground, then not only they (MI) would pocket two vital points, but that may be the first real challenge for Rajasthan this season. Because they have a history of letting go the initial advantages, after enviable beginnings in some previous IPL seasons.
Whatever may be the outcome, but a close game is expected between the two almost evenly matched sides. (With IANS support)