The 24th match of the IPL 2021 will be the first of the double-header which will be played at Delhi on April 29, 2021. The match will see Mumbai Indians (MI) take on Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the day match which will begin from 3.30 PM IST.
MI is placed 4th on the points table of IPL 2021 with 2 wins in 5 matches, while RR is at the 7th spot with 2 wins in 5 matches as well, but a poor net run-rate. Both the teams will play their first match at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi, as the caravan has moved to Delhi and Ahmedabad.
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For MI it is from one spin-friendly pitch in Chennai to another in Delhi, while RR will need to adjust to Kotla pitch after coming from the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai.
Keeping this in mind, Team COC presents to you the Predicted Playing XIs for the MI v RR match to be played in Delhi.
MUMBAI INDIANS (MI)
Mumbai Indians, the defending champions have found the going tough despite their captain Rohit Sharma leading from the front, scoring heavily at the top. Even Jasprit Bumrah and Trent Boult have come to the party and leg-spinner Rahul Chahar has shown his abilities in full as well.
However, the problem for them has been no support for Rohit Sharma at the top, as Quinton de Kock has just not been able to get a start. The same is the story with their fabled big-hitting trio of Kieron Pollard and the Pandya brothers- Hardik and Krunal.
Pollard has not been in the best of the forms with the bat, and the same can be said for Krunal and Hardik. Krunal’s bowling has been expensive and he has not been able to stem the flow of runs whenever called on to bowl and Hardik Pandya is still not fit enough to bowl and is having a dry run with the bat, which is hurting the team.
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No matter how much Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, and others are doing, MI have found themselves in losing situations more often than not. Jayant Yadav’s inclusion has been a boon for them, as his bowling on slow pitches in powerplays has given the burdened duo of Bumrah and Boult some respite.
MI might want to give some more breathing space for the fast bowling duo and bring in either Jimmy Neesham or Nathan Coulter-Nile, preferably for Krunal Pandya, to not only strengthen the bowling but also get some runs down the order.
RAJASTHAN ROYALS (RR)
Rajasthan Royals (RR) are not having a good outing as well in the IPL 2021, which has been compounded by the fact they have lost four of their overseas players. Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer are out of IPL due to injuries, while Andrew Tye and Liam Livingstone have gone back citing personal reasons.
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This means Sanju Samson doesn’t have the choices anymore to switch out his foreign players and has to make do with Jos Buttler, Mustafizur Rahman, David Miller, and Chris Morris, all of who have become a vital part of the RR XI.
However, as they move from batting-friendly surfaces in Mumbai to spin-friendly pitches in Delhi, RR might want to keep one of the pacers out to bring in another spinner. They have the choice of bringing in Mayank Markande or KC Cariappa and even give another shot to Shreyas Gopal as they face MI, whose batsmen, especially Rohit Sharma are vulnerable to leg-spin.
Apart from this potential change, RR doesn’t have any more tweaks to make as Jaiswal should be given another chance at the top, while the rest of their lineup is pretty much solid and just needs a breakaway performance to get some confidence and it may come against the defending champions.
MI COC Predicted Playing XI:
Quinton de Kock (WK), Rohit Sharma (C), Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, Kieron Pollard, Hardik Pandya, Jayant Yadav, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Rahul Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult
RR COC Predicted Playing XI:
Jos Buttler, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson (C&WK), Shivam Dube, David Miller, Riyan Parag, Rahul Tewatia, Chris Morris, Chetan Sakariya, Mayank Markande, Mustafizur Rahman
