IPL 2020: Match 20, MI vs RR – MI Predicted Playing XI

The Mumbai Indians (MI) have had a great start to this edition of the IPL. After the loss to the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the opening game, the defending champions bounced back hard. They registered a few big victories in the tournament since then including one in their last match against the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). Playing in Sharjah, they did an excellent job to restrict the opposition to just 174 runs and managed to register a 34-run victory.

In their next match, MI is set to take on the Rajasthan Royals (RR). The Royals seem to have lost their way in the last two matches after winning their first two. Mumbai will love to take maximum advantage of this and go on to make it a hat-trick on wins. Their side looks quite settled at this juncture and hence, the duo of Rohit Sharma and Mahela Jayawardene do not have a lot of headaches to deal with.

Here is the Predicted Playing XI for the Mumbai Indians (MI):

Openers (Rohit Sharma (c), Quinton de Kock (wk))

Rohit Sharma missed out in the last game as he chased a delivery wide of the off-stump and ended up underedging it. However, the skipper is in good form with the bat. If he is a little watchful early on, a phase where he is usually skeptical, he can go on to make it a big score. Moreover, he has been brilliant thus far with his leadership.

His opening partner, Quinton de Kock, seemed to have found his touch back. After an early reprieve against the Sunrisers, he went on to score 82 runs. That knock should give him a lot of confidence going forward and MI will hope that he continues the good work.

Middle Order (Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan)

Suryakumar Yadav has found it tough to convert his starts. Even in the last game, he looked good during his brief stay in the middle. However, he hasn’t been able to kick on and play those big knocks. Yadav would want to address that area of his game and make an impact in this match.

Ishan Kishan, meanwhile, hasn’t played a big knock after that 99 in his first game. He scored 31 off 23 balls in the last match. While he’s been doing the job required, he would also want to play those big knocks more consistently. The left-hander, though, has been brilliant on the field.

All Rounders (Hardik Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Krunal Pandya)

The amount of impact Kieron Pollard is having in this edition of the league is massive. In five games now, he has been dismissed only once which shows his prowess with the bat. The vice-captain scored 163 runs thus far batting lower down the order at a strike rate of 209. He has also been quite handy with the ball.

Hardik Pandya has also been playing some blistering knocks towards the end of the innings for MI. He might have scored only 105 runs till now but has executed his job to perfection. His elder brother, Krunal Pandya, also joined the party with the bat in the last game scoring 20 off only 4 balls. The southpaw also picked up 3 wickets with the ball.

Bowlers (James Pattinson, Rahul Chahar, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah)

The MI bowling line-up has been firing in all cylinders and restricting a team to anything under 200 at a venue like Sharjah shows how good they’ve been. Rahul Chahar, who’s been handling the spin department, has done a good job thus far with 6 wickets from 5 games. Moreover, his economy rate is under 8.

Jasprit Bumrah, however, has blown hot and cold. He picked two wickets in the last match but conceded over 10 runs an over. His economy rate in this tournament has been close to 9. Trent Boult and James Pattison, though, have done well. While the left-arm pacer picked up 8 wickets from 5 games, Pattinson has accounted for 7. Both of them would like to keep up the good work in the upcoming match as well.