Today’s IPL clash sees Rajasthan Royals, who are still mathematically in with a chance to qualify taking on an in form Mumbai Indians. The game is followed by a battle to strengthen their foothold on the table as Delhi Capitals host Kings XI Punjab.
RAJASTHAN ROYALS VS MUMBAI INDIANS:
Rajasthan Royals languish at the bottom half of the table with just two wins to their name. Even though they can still mathematically qualify for the next round, it looks highly unlikely that they would get there.
Throughout the season, their batting order except Buttler has failed to fire. Rahane has always paced his innings very slowly and Steve Smith has never turned things around in the final few overs.
They tried their best to shuffle the batting order and try something new in their previous game vs KXIP but none worked out. Now with the likes of Buttler and Archer set to eave in a week’s time, it looks unlikely that RR can stage a late comeback.
Their opponents for today is an in form MI who currently sit 2nd in the points table. Despite starting the season a poor fashion, a series of wins has propelled them to a strong position in the table.
With a settled side and only a couple of wins needed to put them into the next round, MI will look to make an easy work of their opponents today.
Team News:
Ish Sodhi was roped in to play vs KXIP but he proved to be very costly. He could make way for Ben Stokes if fit or Steve Smith. Ashton Turner did not fire after replacing Smith in the previous game. But he is likely to retain his place in the playing eleven.
Despite the move to promote Ben Cutting to one down position didn’t work out, MI will keep his position in the side intact with his abilities to chip in with a couple of overs when needed. Ishan Kishan could return to the side replacing Jayant Yadav.
Expected XI:
RR: Rahul Tripathi, Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson (wk), Ajinkya Rahane (c), Steve Smith/Ben Stokes, Ashton Turner, Stuart Binny, Mahipal Lomror, Shreyas Gopal, Jofra Archer, Dhawal Kulkarni.
MI: Rohit Sharma, Quinton de Kock (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Krunal Pandya, Ben Cutting, Rahul Chahar, Lasith Malinga, Jasprit Bumrah.
DELHI CAPITALS VS KINGS XI PUNJAB:
Both DC and KXIP sit with 10 points after their 9 games this season. They both have had a similar stint this season, with losses halting their progression many a times.
But both of them will arrive in a contrasting fashion into tonight’s clash. Kings XI Punjab come on the back of beating Rajasthan Royals while DC suffered a heartbreaking loss to MI.
On paper DC have a better balanced squad while KXIP clearly lack a certain firepower at the death, be it with the bat or ball. Also with DC knowing how the pitch will behave, they will have the slightest of advantages heading into the contest.
Team News:
It will once again be a slowish track that will in place at Kotla. So this means Sandeep Lamichhane could be roped in for Keemo Paul. Also with Ingram having a better technique to handle this wicket, he could replace Munro in the eleven.
Kings XI Punjab have shuffled their bowling pack quite regularly this season. But with injures to Mujeeb, Varun and Henriques, the side is currently limited to a smaller squad that picks for itself.
Expected XI:
DC: Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw, Shreyas Iyer (c), Rishabh Pant (wk), Colin Ingram, Chris Morris, Axar Patel, Kagiso Rabada, Amit Mishra, Ishant Sharma, Sandeep Lamichanne.
KXIP: Chris Gayle, KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Nicholas Pooran, David Miller, Mandeep Singh, Sam Curran, R Ashwin (c), M Ashwin, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Shami.
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