In-form Rajasthan Royals take on winless Mumbai Indians | IPL 2022 RR vs MI: Team Analysis

The last time Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals met, Jos Buttler scored a century and Ishan Kishan secured a fifty. Though MI lost the match, it was an eventful evening. As both teams meet again in the 44th match at DY Patil Stadium in Mumbai, MI enter the duel having lost 8 out of 8, while RR is currently placed second on the points table. Here is the team analysis:

Team analysis of Mumbai Indians

Strengths: The middle-order along with Rohit Sharma, who now looks comfortable on the crease has been MI's strength. Tilak Varma and Suryakumar Yadav have performed exceptionally well for the team. On the bowling front, it has been a hit and a miss kind of season for them. Jasprit Bumrah has been the only consistent bowler in the line-up, asking batters tough questions and bowling those toe-crushing yorkers. Kieron Pollard may not be as good a batter as he used to be in his prime, but his bowling has yielded wickets for the team when they're most needed.

Weaknesses: That an inconsistent Daniel Sams has managed to play so many games is just a miracle. Also, Jayadev Unadkat does not ooze the confidence which he once used to. Basil Thampi, who is a far better bowler, is quick and has variations in his armory, can be a replacement. The only positive for Ishan Kishan, who is otherwise having a horrid season. is that he scored a 50 the last he played against Rajasthan Royals.

Team analysis of Rajasthan Royals

Strengths: The top order is firing, the middle-order is decimating attacks and power hitters are going ballistic on an average match day for Royals. The team is full of match winners. On the bowling side of things, Trent Boult, Prasidh Krishna, Ravichandran Ashwin, and Yuzvendra Chahal have been excellent. They just toy with the batters and eventually fool them into dismissals. Trent Boult along with Prasidh Krishna in the powerplay has been excellent. The way Prasidh Krishna has bowled in the death overs is just a treat to the eyes, going around the wicket and hitting those wide yorkers. In the spin duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Yuzvendra Chahal, RR have aced a test that not many teams can boast to have passed, with both averaging an economy of around 7 in the middle overs. Riyan Parag, who is under a lot of scrutiny for his dance, was sensational in their previous match. This boosts their batting line-up which does not have depth.

Weaknesses: The lack of batting depth was visible against RCB, where they struggled to put up a good total. It was only because of Riyan Parag's exploits that they were able to reach 144. Plus, Buttler's struggle against Jasprit Bumrah can be a bit of concern for the team management.

Impact player for Mumbai Indians

Tilak Varma: A teenager with the maturity of an old rear-guard, he has time and again bailed the sinking MI ship out with his steady batting.

Impact player for Rajasthan Royals

Ravichandran Ashwin: A bowler who thinks, who has elaborate plans for every batter, and can slog at the number 3 batting position. You can take Ashwin out of cricket, but you can never take cricket out of him.

Head-to-head: 28

MI won: 14
RR won: 13
NR: 1

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