Mumbai Indians (MI) will be playing their sixth game and Rajasthan Royals (RR) will be playing their fifth game when they come up against each other in the 20th Match of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020. Both the teams are coming from the opposite ends as MI has won two in a row and RR has lost two in a row.
This will be an important game for Rajasthan Royals as they have failed to win a game outside Sharjah. Mumbai Indians are looking in a good position and would like to make it three wins in three games. Both the teams have some high-quality players so it will be an interesting battle to watch out for.
Match Details
Mumbai Indians vs Rajasthan Royals, Match 20
06th October, 07:30 PM IST.
Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Pitch and Weather Report
Both the teams played an afternoon game over the weekend so they will be relieved that the temperature will be a bit cooler than it was in the afternoon. Having said that, the temperature will remain in the mid and high 30s.
The pitch was a bit slow in the last game as the ball wasn’t coming onto the bat easily. If the same strip is used then it might be another 160-170 game. It will be a tricky decision for the captains at the toss as it has been a mixed bag for the teams so far.
Squads
Mumbai Indians
Rohit Sharma (C), Quinton De Kock, Chris Lynn, Saurabh Tiwary, Suryakumar Yadav, Aditya Tare, Ishan Kishan, Digvijay Deshmukh, Anmolpreet Singh, Krunal Pandya, Hardik Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Sherfane Rutherford, Nathan Coulter Nile, Anukul Roy, Rahul Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah, Dhawal Kulkarni, Mitchell McClenaghan, Jayant Yadav, Trent Boult, James Pattinson, Prince Balwant Rai Singh, Mohsin Khan
Rajasthan Royals
Steve Smith (C), Robin Uthappa, Sanju Samson, Jos Buttler, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Manan Vohra, Ben Stokes, David Miller, Riyan Parag, Mahipal Lomror, Shreyas Gopal, Rahul Tewatia, Mayank Markande, Jaydev Unadkat, Varun Aaron, Jofra Archer, Oshane Thomas, Tom Curran, Kartik Tyagi, Akash Singh, Andrew Tye, Ankit Rajpoot, Anuj Rawat, Shashank Singh, Aniruddha Joshi
Team News
Mumbai Indians
Mumbai Indians were one of the strongest teams on the paper and they are showing it on the field as well. They are performing in all the three departments in their last couple of games. Quinton De Kock who wasn’t in great form got an important fifty in the last game.
Trent Boult and James Pattinson their overseas quicks are performing well which is a great sign for their team. Their middle-order is one of the strongest in the competition and it seems as if they have all the bases covered. MI will look to make it three in three when they come up against RR.
Rohit Sharma and Trent Boult will be the key players for this match.
Rajasthan Royals
Rajasthan Royals haven’t got over the Sharjah pitch and ground as they are still going hard in the first six overs. They lost three wickets in the powerplay in the last game which cost them the game. Steve Smith and Sanju Samson who were brilliant in Sharjah need to score some more runs at the other venues.
Ben Stokes has arrived in UAE but he is serving his quarantine, so it will take some more time before we see him on the field. Shreyas Gopal was good in the last game and he needs to continue his good form. Robin Uthappa hasn’t really delivered in the middle-order and they might think of bringing in Yashasvi Jaiswal up at the top and push everybody down in the order.
Jofra Archer and Steve Smith will be the key players in this important match for RR.
Fantasy Prediction
Steve Smith, Sanju Samson, Rohit Sharma, Quinton De Kock, Jos Buttler, Kieron Pollard, Riyan Parag, Krunal Pandya, Jofra Archer, Jasprit Bumrah, Rahul Chahar
Captain: Rohit Sharma, Vice-Captain: Jofra Archer
