The defending champions face Rajasthan Royals in their next Dream11 IPL 2020 encounter at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi.

While MI is coming off victories against KXIP and SRH, RR who started with back-to-back wins have faced consecutive losses. MI is currently at the second position on the point table while RR are placed fifth.

Here we take you through some of the talking points ahead of the clash between MI and RR.

Tough competition

Out of the 23 clashes between MI and RR, both sides have emerged victorious eleven times each with one match ending in no result. However, RR has an ongoing four-match winning streak against the defending champions.

Both teams were also at the pinnacle of the Champions League T20 back in 2013, where MI won by 33 runs. The likes of Rohit Sharma, Kieron Pollard, Nathan Coulter-Nile, and Sanju Samson were also part of the match, seven years back.

Back to Abu Dhabi

MI will be playing their fourth game at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium. With the team staying in Abu Dhabi, they will be acclimatized to the conditions there. The men in Blue and Gold have won two out of their three games on this ground so far.

With longer boundaries, the fast bowling department has given the opposition batsmen a run for their money. At the same time, there is enough firepower in the batting order to clear them.

Fiery Top Order

Quinton de Kock finally came to his own against SRH with a knock of 67 (39). Fielding Coach James Pamment asserted that the wicketkeeper batsman had worked hard and kept the belief in his abilities. Rohit Sharma has looked in good touch with two fifties and is also MI's leading run-scorer in the tournament so far. Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan have also had their moments.

In Jos Buttler and Steve Smith, RR have a formidable opening pair. Sanju Samson has been in good form and the fact that he has the highest aggregate amongst RR batsmen is a sublime proof of the same. Robin Uthappa hasn't been in form for a while. They also have a top-order option in Yashasvi Jaiswal.

Lower-Order Comparison

In the lower-order, the battle will be between experience and inexperience.

The pair of Kieron Pollard and Hardik Pandya has been seasoned campaigners for MI. Their strike rates of 149.25 and 155.15 in IPL speaks volume about their destruction with the bat. Krunal Pandya too joined the party at Sharjah and displayed his power-hitting skills.

For RR, Rahul Tewatia won a match for his side out of nowhere and seems confident. Mahipal Lomror top-scored for his team in the game against RCB. Riyan Parag who had a promising debut last year will be keen to step up. It will be interesting to see where does Ben Stokes bat if he plays. David Miller is also an option for them.

Speed Guns and Spin Power

Trent Boult has been exceptional for MI with the new ball in tandem with James Pattinson. Both have picked 15 wickets between themselves. Jasprit Bumrah is also bowling good lengths and proved his audacity with the ball against KXIP. The spinners have done a decent job as and when required, including bowling in the powerplay overs. Pollard has also been quite handy with the ball.

Jofra Archer has been leading the pace attack for Rajasthan. The speedster has not only picked wickets but also restricted the run-scoring with an economy rate of 6.75. Jaydev Unadkat did well against KKR while Tom Curran is also capable of taking wickets at crucial junctures. Shreyas Gopal and Parag aren't having the best of the tournament so far. They also have a leg-spinner option in Mayank Markande.

Approaching milestones:

- Rohit requires 96 runs more to complete 4000 runs for MI in IPL

- Pollard requires 82 runs more to complete 3000 runs in IPL

- Krunal requires 85 runs more to complete 1000 runs in IPL

- Boult requires 4 wickets to complete 50 wickets in IPL

Players To Watch Out For

Suryakumar Yadav: The Mumbai batsman has got a couple of starts in this season. He will be looking to convert it into something big. Suryakumar Yadav has been the leading run-scorer for MI in the last two years and will gain confidence from his knock of 72 (47) against the same opposition, back in 2018.

James Pattinson: The right-arm pacer from Australia has been on a song with the new ball. James Pattinson is the second-highest wicket-taker for MI currently with seven wickets in Dream11 IPL 2020. His clever use of the short and slower balls has kept the opposition batsmen in check so far.

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