In the Indian Premier League 2024, matches are happening quickly as the league moves into its third week. On Monday, April 1, the Mumbai Indians (MI) will host their season opener at Mumbai’s storied Wankhede Stadium. The first-ever champion Rajasthan Royals (RR) will square off against the five-time IPL champions.
Under new skipper Hardik Pandya, the Mumbai Indians’ season has gotten off to a poor start. In their first encounter, they were defeated by the Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad by six runs. In their second meeting, they were limited to 246/5 in Hyderabad after giving up a record 277 runs in their 20 overs against Sunrisers Hyderabad. Mumbai will be playing in front of their home supporters for the first time following two poor outcomes. It will be intriguing to observe how Hardik is received at the stadium, where Rohit Sharma resides and whom the all-round player succeeded as MI captain.
In the first few games, Hardik’s decision-making has come under fire, and he hasn’t left his imprint with the bat or the ball. At the stadiums, the 30-year-old has also drawn jeers. Hardik will need to put in a lot of work and deliver a performance that the MI faithful will love.
Two of the three teams still unbeaten in the IPL 2024 are Rajasthan Royals. In Jaipur, they defeated the Lucknow Super Giants by 20 runs to get things going. Sanju Samson and company defeated Delhi Capitals in a close match in their second encounter.
One of Rajasthan’s top achievers has been Riyan Parag. He has scored 127 runs at a strike rate of 171.62 and an average of 127 in the two games. The Royals are hoping that the Assam batsman can carry over his recent success when they play Mumbai.
PITCH REPORT:
It’s well known that Wankhede Stadium is a hitter’s paradise. With small boundaries and a relatively constant surface for the full 40 overs, the hitters have plenty of opportunity to score runs. At this location, the dew effect helps the chasing teams a little bit. Teams batting first have won 50 of the 109 IPL matches played at Wankhede Stadium, while chasing teams have won 59. First-inning scores average 169. Regarding the weather, supporters may anticipate a whole game on Monday as there is no chance of rain.
Mumbai Indians (1.75) vs Rajasthan Royals (2.15)
Heading into this match, has Mumbai Indians are a heavy betting favorite over Rajasthan Royals at 1.75, which means a ₹100 bet on LSG will return ₹175.
Prediction: For this match, we are picking Rajasthan Royals to win the match, but ideally the team batting second has it easy on the chase because of the dew factor. ()
Best Bets from Cricaza
has Josh Buttler to be the top batter at 3.00 (A ₹100 bet will return ₹300)
has Rajasthan Royals to beat Mumbai Indians at 2.15 (A ₹100 bet will return ₹215)
 will host their season opener at Mumbai's storied Wankhede Stadium. The first-ever champion Rajasthan Royals (RR) will square off against the five-time IPL champions.){kind=link}