IPL 2018 - Match 21 - RR vs MI Preview

It’s going to be an important game for both these two sides in the 2018 Indian Premier League. While Mumbai Indians have a much stronger side on paper, they are struggling with one win in 4 games, while Rajasthan Royals have slightly better so far, with 2 wins from their 5 games. As of now, Mumbai Indians lead the head-to-head count between these two, 9-6.

Teams

The Royals have a lot of team combination issues. After giving D’Arcy Short 4 goes at the top, they finally swapped him out for Heinrich Klaasen, who didn’t do too well either. Their next shortcoming is batting Rahul Tripathi lower down in the order and wasting away his talent of finding the gaps in the powerplay overs. Could they bump up Tripathi to open with Rahane, while Klaasen could drop down to #3.

Their bowling hasn’t been too good either, with the most expensive Indian bowler, Jaydev Unadkat, being taken for runs aplenty. He seems to have been figured out by the batsmen and hasn’t been among the wickets like last year. Ben Laughlin has been bowling well and won’t be likely to lose his place to the now-fit Jofra Archer. However, I want to see Archer in the team and I wouldn’t be surprised if he makes his way into the team in place of Klaasen.

One thing is for sure that Ben Stokes has arrived mentally in IPL 2018, and he will be my fantasy team captain. The Jaipur pitch is a batting paradise and with both teams having good batsmen, the captain winning the toss will want to bat first and post a total close to 200, build scoreboard pressure and win the game. Anything below 180 will not be defended here.

Mumbai Indians have a dangerous opening pair of Rohit Sharma and Evin Lewis. If early wickets don’t fall, these two can rack up a good total while the Pandya brothers mustn’t be ruled out either, capable of hitting the big shots. I believe the middle order will be vital for both teams. It will be a contest between the likes of Tripathi and Samson against Kishan and Pandyas. The bowlers, unfortunately, may take a beating in this contest.

Overall

Rajasthan Royals will be my pick for this match. However, a lot will depend upon the changes I have mentioned above. If none of these changes are made, Mumbai will win this with ease. At the same time, the toss will be vital. 10% more chances of winning if your captain wins the toss and bats first on this batting paradise.

IPL 2018 – Match 21 – Rajasthan Royals vs Mumbai Indians Preview

Teams

Overall

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