IPL 2019 – Match 36: Rajasthan Royals vs Mumbai Indians – MI Predicted Playing XI

The Mumbai Indians (MI) sit second on the points table in the IPL 2019 with six wins in nine games. After the slow start to the tournament, the team has got back on track beautifully and is playing some outstanding cricket. Since they lost two out of the first three, their only other loss in the tournament game against the Rajasthan Royals (RR).

It was a nail-biting high-scoring game when these two teams met the last time. The Royals held onto their nerves in the crunch situations to cruise past the winning line with three balls to spare. However, the ‘Men in Pink’ has drifted apart since then and it is a wonderful opportunity for MI to answer them back in style. The visitors are likely to make one change to their well-balanced eleven for the upcoming game.

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

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

It’s been a long wait for the fans and Rohit Sharma hasn’t fired to his full potential as yet. The Mumbai skipper is tempting them with good starts in every single game. He is middling the ball well and is finding the gaps with precision. But he hasn’t been able to stick around for a long time. The skipper is yet to score a half-century in the tournament.

Quinton de Kock is playing really well. He’s adjusted to the conditions in India and is picking his shots well. The wicket-keeper batsman is striking big sixes and is also finding the gaps with ease. MI will back him to provide the team with a good start in the upcoming game as well. De Kock is highly reliable behind the stumps.

Middle Order (Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, Kieron Pollard)

Ishan Kishan was ruled out in the last match but is expected to be back in the eleven for RR match. He is an exciting prospect and can hit the big shots. The left-hander will either bat at three or four in the upcoming game. Suryakumar Yadav will be the other player in the middle order. He has looked promising every time he walked out to bat.

However, the Mumbai batsman hasn’t been able to convert the starts into big scores. He needs to score quick runs yet play risk-free cricket in the next few games. Kieron Pollard is another important player in the middle order. MI have been very flexible with their middle order. Hence, Pollard hasn’t had much to do in the last two games.

All Rounders (Krunal Pandya, Hardik Pandya, Ben Cutting)

Krunal Pandya and Hardik Pandya have been two of the strongest pillars of MI this season. Both of them have fared well with the bat as well as the ball. In the last encounter, they played crucial knocks when the team was under pressure. Hardik has been finishing the innings well for his team. However, with the ball, he needs to bowl better lengths.

MI added Ben Cutting for the last game. Moreover, he was also promoted to bat at the number three position to take the counterattack to the opposition. But he has failed to live up to the expectations. He might get another opportunity in the upcoming game and will have a bigger role to fulfil with the ball.

Bowlers (Rahul Chahar, Lasith Malinga, Jasprit Bumrah)

The bowling attack of the Mumbai Indians looks pretty much sorted. Rahul Chahar has been bowling beautifully for the side. In the encounter against the Delhi Capitals, he opened the bowling. Even though he leaked a lot of runs in his first over, he came back strong. The leg-spinner picked three crucial wickets of the top-order batsmen and put his side in a very good position.

With Alzarri Joseph ruled out of the tournament, Lasith Malinga will definitely continue in the eleven. He slower balls with come in handy with the long boundaries in Jaipur. He will have Jasprit Bumrah to share the death bowling duties with him. Since the RR team doesn’t have great finishers in their line-up, these two could look to exploit that weakness.

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