IPL 2023, MI vs RR preview: Misfiring MI look go get their act together

Mumbai Indians will have to bring their 'A-game' to the show in order to stop Rajasthan Royals' juggernaut

Mumbai: Misfiring Mumbai Indians will have to bring their ‘A-game’ to the show in order to stop Rajasthan Royals’ juggernaut when the two teams meet in an Indian Premier League match here on Sunday.

RR are currently at the top of the table with some incredible performances – for example their one-sided routing of Chennai Super Kings. Despite losing two of their last three matches, the Sanju Samson-led side is in prime form and has been delivering in all departments of the game.

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On the other hand, there are serious concerns for MI, especially their death bowling, which was responsible for their last two defeats in high-scoring games. MI bowlers gave away a whopping 96 runs in the last 30 balls to allow Punjab Kings to run away with the match here at the Wankhede Stadium last weekend. If that was not enough, MI conceded 70 runs off the last 24 balls against defending champions Gujarat Titans.

MI will need more from their top-order but the task on Sunday night will be to put a unified front, given that RR’s batting has been consistent enough. In particular, Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav will have to fire to help MI resurrect their campaign.

The Mumbai side is languishing at the bottom and are currently placed eighth in the points table after the first half of the tournament.

In the bowling department, it remains to be seen if Jofra Archer shows up for the contest against his former side Rajasthan. The English pacer, far from being 100 per cent fit, has spent more time recovering from his elbow troubles this season and illness, due to which he missed the contest against Gujarat Titans. The likes of Jason Behrendorff, Riley Meredith and Arjun Tendulkar have been expensive.

On the other hand, RR will look to make the most of the frailties of MI. RR have the firepower in their batting line-up to pile up a total around 200 at the batting-friendly surface here. RR have an assured pairing of Jos Buttler and Yashasvi Jaiswal at the top, and in the middle they have the likes of Sanju Samson, Devdutt Padikkal, Shimron Hetmyer followed by Dhruv Jurel.

The right-handed uncapped Jurel has been a find of the season for the Royals, as he has consistently made quick runs. RR’s biggest strength in the bowling unit is undoubtedly the spin duo of Yuzvendra Chahal and Ravichandran Ashwin, who have so far taken collective 23 wickets in eight matches. Left-arm fast bowler Trent Boult has looked impressive at the start of the innings and with nine wickets in six games, the Kiwi has turned out to be RR’s one of the best weapons.