Strongest Rajasthan Royals (RR) Playing XI Against Mumbai Indians (MI)

After two consecutive losses in the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), Rajasthan Royals finally returned to winning ways as they registered a stunning victory against the Kolkata Knight Riders by six wickets. It was an all-around performance by the Royals as they were decent with both the bat and the ball.

Win the win against KKR, RR also scripted their second win of IPL 2021. The franchise will now be hoping to continue their winning momentum as they lock horns against Mumbai Indians at the Arun Jaitely Stadium in Delhi. 

RR Predicted Playing XI for IPL 2021- Match 24

Openers (Jos Buttler, Yashasvi Jaiswal)

Rajasthan Royals boasts of having one of the most explosive opening batters to their side in the form of Jos Buttler. However, the franchise has been grappling with its top-order issues and powerplay concerns as the England star is yet to fire with the bat. The poor performance by the opening batters is one of the major reason behind RR’s poor run in IPL 2021

In four matches thus far, Buttler has lost his wicket at 25,2, 49,8, and 5. In their previous encounter against the Knight Riders, RR tried a new opening combination as they included Yashasvi Jaiswal in place of Manan Vohra. Jaiswal looked in decent touch with the willow but failed to convert a good start into something substantial. Thus, the batter marched back to the pavilion after scoring 22 off 17.

Entering the match against Mumbai Indians, the 2008-champions will be hoping for the top-order to display a good form with the willow and give a desired start to the team.

Middle Order (Sanju Samson (C and WK), Mahipal Lomror, David Miller)

One of the highlights of RR’s victory against the Kolkata Knight Riders was the sensible knock played by the skipper Sanju Samson. Samson has often been criticized for throwing his wicket away and not showing responsibility while batting. However, in the match against KKR, the skipper anchored the innings, and with his knock of 42* runs off 41  balls took the team to the finishing line.

Sanju’s good form with the willow is a big plus point for RR as they will be looking forward to continuing their winning momentum. The South African batter David Miller is also in great form with the willow and has been trying his best to fill the space of Ben Stokes in the team.

However, the Royals might replace Shivam Dube in the middle-order with Mahipal Lomror. Rajasthan had a lot of expectations from Dube and wanted the youngster to provide stability to the team’s batting order. However, Shivam has failed to essay his job and thus, the team can give Mahipal a chance to prove his capabilities.

All-Rounders (Riyan Parag, Rahul Tewatia, Chris Morris)

Rajasthan Royals are unlikely to mess with their all-rounder’s as all the three players including the likes of Riyan Parag, Rahul Tewatia and Chris Morris have essayed their role quite well. Morris has been living up to his reputation in the T20 Championship thus far as he was the wrecker-in-chief for RR in their previous game against KKR.

Morris bowled a match-defining spell of 4-0-23-4 to help RR win the game by six wickets and register their second win in the tournament. While the South African all-rounder is justifying his hefty paycheque, the Royals will expect Parag and Tewatia to show some responsibility while batting in the middle-order and not lose their wicket while playing any rash shot.

Bowlers (Shreyas Gopal, Chetan Sakariya, Mustafizur Rahman)

The surface of the Arun Jaitely Stadium in Delhi is likely to show resemblance with the pitch of the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. This means that the surface can provide assistance to the spinners and they can play a big role in the match. Thus, Rajasthan Royals are likely to make a change in their bowling line-up as Shreyas Gopal can be included in place of Jaydev Unadkat.

Though Unadkat has performed brilliantly in the T20 Extravanza thus far, the Royals won’t fancy playing at the spin-friendly track of Delhi with just one spinner, Rahul Tewatia in the Playing XI. Thus, Gopal can make a  comeback in the Playing XI. Apart from the inclusion of Gopal, no other change is expected in RR’s bowling line-up as both Chetan Sakariya and Mustafizur Rahman have done a decent job with the ball.