Royals aim to return to winning ways
Run into champions Mumbai at home after suffering two consecutive losses
Rajasthan Royals will aim to bounce back after suffering two consecutive losses, while Mumbai Indians will be in search of their second win when they face-off in an Indian Premier League (IPL) match here today.
With two wins and three defeats, Rajasthan are placed fifth with four points, while Mumbai are sixth with one win in four games. But the good thing for Mumbai is that their sole win came in their last match — a 46-run win over Royal Challengers Bangalore on Tuesday.
Hence, Rajasthan have a lot to worry about. Rajasthan started their IPL 2018 campaign on a poor note, hammered by Sunrisers Hyderabad by nine wickets. They however, gained momentum and registered two back-to-back wins against Delhi Daredevils and Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Outclassed
Later, Kolkata Knight Riders and Chennai Super Kings outclassed them by seven wickets and 64 runs respectively.
In the past two matches, neither Rajasthan’s batsmen nor their bowlers have delivered. Against KKR, they could only post 160 and allowed the visitors to chase down the target with ease. Against CSK, Rajasthan bowlers were taken to cleaners by veteran Australian all-rounder Shane Watson, who blasted a 106 off 57 deliveries. Rajasthan then were bowled out for 140, with no one, barring Ben Stokes (45) offering any resistance.
Skipper Ajinkya Rahane has looked good but has not been converting good starts into big scores. Sanju Samson, Stokes and Rahul Tripathi have been inconsistent.
Rajasthan’s bowlers — K. Gowtham and Ben Laughlin — have performed well while leggie Shreyas Gopal has also been economical. But they have not performed well together in a single match. Jaydev Unadkat also needs to raise his level to live to the expectations of the franchise.
The visiting side at the Sawai Man Singh Stadium, Mumbai lost all the first three matches. First, against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the season opener, then to Sunrisers Hyderabad and to Delhi Daredevils before overcoming RCB with a supreme batting show. Rohit Sharma (94 off 52) and West Indian Ervin Lewis (65) powered Mumbai to 213. Mumbai then restricted RCB to 167 as Virat Kohli’s magnificent 92 went in vain.
In the upcoming match, they will hope that the win will begin a series of good days as Mumbai lost the two of their encounters in the last over.
Mumbai bowlers Mustafizur Rehman, Jasprit Bumrah, Mayank Markande and Krunal Pandya did well to contain a heavy-batting side like RCB and will aim to repeat the good work against Rajasthan.