IPL 2018, Match 47, MI vs RR Match Prediction: Who will win the match today, Mumbai Indians or Rajasthan Royals?

Both Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals have lost 6 out of their 11 games and are in need to win 3 out of 3 from here on to make it to the playoffs which makes tomorrow’s game between them a virtual knockout. Whoever loses will still have a little bit of a chance with a good Net Run Rate, but their fate will be out of their own hands. Neither of these two teams will want to be in that position and hence the intensity on the ground tomorrow should be really high.

The last time these two teams met, the Royals pulled off an incredible victory with Krishnappa Gowtham turning the game upside down in the last couple of overs with some brutal hitting. Mumbai will be eager to return the favour as they host Rajasthan at the Wankhede Stadium.

Pitch and Conditions

The Wankhede over the years has produced some run fests in the IPL and the wicket, in all likelihood, should be full of runs for this game. It will nip around early in the first innings, but if the team batting first doesn’t lose quick wickets at the top, the spectators will be in for some serious entertainment through the evening.

The reason why stroke-play is nice and easy at the Wankhede that is because the even bounce the surface offers. It’s not generally a two-paced surface where the batsmen are not sure about the carry. They can trust the bounce here and can hit their shots on the rise.

Playing Combination

Mumbai Indians

Probable Changes – JP Duminy out, Ben Cutting in

Mumbai have been reluctant to leave Duminy out because of the indifferent form of some of their batsmen. They perhaps wanted the security of that extra batsman, but now with Ishan Kishan and the skipper Rohit himself back in form and hitting the ball crisp, they will perhaps want an extra bowler in and reduce their reliance on the part-timer trio of Cutting and Pandya brothers.

Adam Milne is a hit the deck bowler who generally cranks up good speeds but is capable of bowling the cutters as well and since he is genuinely quick with his stock ball, his change of pace can be very effective. The Blackcaps pacer is someone who can be banked upon to bowl in the death along with Jasprit Bumrah.

Predicted XI: Evin Lewis, Surya Kumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan (WK), Rohit Sharma (C), Krunal Pandya, Hardik Pandya, Ben Cutting, Mitchell McClenaghan, Mayank Markande, Adam Milne, Jasprit Bumrah

Rajasthan Royals

Probable Changes – No Change

While Rajasthan will want to go with the same XI, they have some decisions to make in terms of their batting order. They surely can’t keep opening with Ben Stokes because not only does it weaken their middle order, but it also makes playing some of the top order players play out of position. The likes of Ajinkya Rahane and Prashant Chopra can’t bat beyond the top 3 and the management must keep it in mind.

Ideally, Buttler and Rahane should open the batting, while Chopra and Sanju Samson should be slotted at 3 and 4 respectively followed by Stokes, Stuart Binny and Krishnappa Gowtham who will be the finishers.

Predicted XI: Ajinkya Rahane (C), Jos Buttler, Prashant Chopra, Sanju Samson, Ben Stokes, Stuart Binny, Krishnappa Gowtham, Ankit Sharma, Jofra Archer, Ish Sodhi, Jaydev Unadkat

Team Comparison

Mumbai Indians are gaining momentum at the right time and they are always a dangerous side to face at this stage of the tournament. They seem to have all the bases covered with both bat and ball and Rajasthan have a real challenge on their hands.

The team is riding on the form of Jos Buttler who has scored 4 half centuries in a row, but the concern for them is Ben Stokes who is struggling big time. They need him to come good in the middle order.

Bowling wise, the visitors would be happy with their efforts in the past few games. They haven’t been perfect, but with the inclusion of Jofra Archer and Ish Sodhi in the XI, they are looking much more formidable than they looked earlier in the tournament

Probable Top Performers

Rohit Sharma (Mumbai Indians), Jofra Archer (Rajasthan Royals)

Head to Head

Matches – 17, Rajasthan Royals – 7, Mumbai Indians – 10

The timing of the match: 08:00 pm IST

Broadcast Details

TV – Star Sports 1, Star Sports Hindi, Star Sports Select 1

Live streaming – Jio TV, Hotstar

The prediction is for the Mumbai Indians to beat the Rajasthan Royals in this match.