IPL 2022: Match 44 – Predicted Mumbai Indians Playing XI vs Rajasthan Royals

The Mumbai Indians (MI) are languishing at the bottom of the points table with eight consecutive losses in the Indian Premier League 2022. In their last league fixture, they faced Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). Although the team was clinical with the ball in the powerplay overs, they could not contain the runs in the remaining part of the first half and the opposition posted 168 on the board. In response, MI again stuttered with the early loss of their top-order batters.

The likes of Rohit Sharma and Tilak Varma contributed 39 runs and 38 runs respectively and did their part to keep the team in contention to reach the target. However, the lack of a six-hitting form of Kieron Pollard could not help the team, and they fell short by 36 runs. In their next league match, the team will be up against the challenge of Rajasthan Royals (RR) at the Dr. DY Patil Sports Academy. For this game, Kieron Pollard is expected to be rested and youngster Tim David can make his way into the Playing XI.

Here’s a look at the Mumbai Indians’ predicted XI against RR:

Openers: Rohit Sharma (c) and Ishan Kishan (wk)

The opening duo of MI has done well in the last few editions and has also played a key role in their last two title victories. However, their downfall has affected the team’s results this season. After a good start in their first fixture against Delhi Capitals (DC), both Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan have been inconsistent with their contributions.

Captain Sharma has garnered only 153 runs in eight innings at a strike rate of 126.44. His top score of 41 came against DC in their tournament opener. In the last outing, he scored 39 off 31 balls and showed some signs of improvement, he would look to convert his starts into a big one.

Wicketkeeper Ishan Kishan has struggled after a whirlwind knock of 81* off 48 balls against DC. In his last three innings, he has scored 13, 0, and 8 respectively. He would look to bounce back in the upcoming game against Rajasthan Royals.

Middle Order: Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Tim David

The middle order has been the most positive thing about MI this year. The likes of Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma have been consistent with their contributions and have kept the team competitive in most of the matches. Suryakumar Yadav joined the team late but has done well to garner 239 runs in six innings at a strike rate of 151.26.

The youngster Varma is the leading run-scorer for MI in his debut IPL season. He has scored 272 runs in eight innings at an impressive strike rate of 140.20. When MI last played against RR this season, Tilak Varma registered his highest score of 61. Varma has certainly been the backbone of the middle-order with contributions in almost all the matches.

One of the proven finishers in the T20 format for the last couple of years, David was ousted from the team after he could only manage 13 runs in two games. He is expected to be a part of the Playing XI for this fixture, with Pollard being rested.

All-rounders: Dewald Brevis, Daniel Sams

Another young talent, who has impressed everyone with his performance, is Dewald Brevis. In his IPL debut, he scored a quickfire 29 runs off 19 balls against the Kolkata Knight Riders. He went on to play a sensational knock of 49 runs off 25 balls against the Punjab Kings (PBKS), in the same match he smashed 28 runs in an over against Rahul Chahar.

Brevis followed it up with 31 off 13 balls against the Lucknow Super Giants, which again came in a losing cause. However, he has been disappointing with the scores of 3 and 4 in the last two games respectively and would try to replicate his earlier performances going forward.

The Australian all-rounder Daniel Sams was brought back to the team against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and finished with figures of 4/30. However, he was costly with figures of 1/40 in the last outing but is still expected to feature in this game.

Bowlers: Hrithik Shokeen, Jaydev Unadkat, Riley Meredith, Jasprit Bumrah

The bowling unit has been average with their performances and has given away runs consistently. The youngster Hrithik Shokeen has been comparatively economical but is not a wicket-taking option for the team. He scored 25 off 25 balls in his debut game for MI and is a handy contributor with the bat in the lower order.

The seasoned campaigner, Jaydev Unadkat has picked up six wickets and scored 59 runs in five appearances. However, his economy of 9.50 has been on the higher side. The Australian pacer Riley Meredith has been impressive with three wickets in two appearances at an economy rate of 8.12.

One of the key players for MI, Jasprit Bumrah has picked up only five wickets in eight games, which is one of the major reasons for the team’s downfall this season. Until the last edition, the team was reliant on the pacer to pick up wickets in the powerplay as well as the death overs.

MI’s predicted playing XI for RR’s clash: Rohit Sharma (c), Ishan Kishan (wk), Dewald Brevis, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Tim David, Hrithik Shokeen, Daniel Sams, Jaydev Unadkat, Riley Meredith, Jasprit Bumrah.