An impressive display of cricket from the Men in Blue and Gold resulted in a comprehensive win in Delhi. With one win in the bag from the fourfold outings away from home, the MI camp is in a positive state of mind. The team will head into the next match with confidence despite failing to bag two points in the home game against Rajasthan Royals. Not only the consecutive wins, but getting the better of Delhi Capitals and Kings XI Punjab the second time around after losing the respective first encounters will give us a mental edge. A win against the Royals on Saturday will take us on top of the Indian Premier League (IPL) standings.

Head-to-head

MI 10-9 RR

Form Guide (Last 5 Games)

Mumbai Indians: W W L W W

Rajasthan Royals: L W L L W

From the MI dugout

As our records of the on-going season suggest, we have three wins each on home turf and on the road. Our performances so far have been a blend of convincing wins and nail-biting finishes going in our favour. Splendid stints from the likes of Hardik Pandya, Lasith Malinga and Rahul Chahar in recent games have given the fans good reason to believe the boys can replicate it at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur. The poor home record of the hosts in the current IPL season will surely be an opening to tap on and capitalize on Saturday.

Key Player:

Rahul Chahar has been in the top tier of bowlers in the MI ranks this year. Improving game after game, the youngster conjured his best IPL figures against Delhi: 4-0-19-3. It comes as no surprise that Rahul’s economy rate of 6.5 is the best for an MI bowler in the competition so far. His knack of taking timely wickets and trickery with the ball makes established batsmen struggle, which will be key in tomorrow’s clash. Moreover, Rahul will be playing at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium, a place where he’s played most of his domestic cricket.

From the RR dugout

Rajasthan Royals find themselves on the seventh spot in the table. With only two wins from eight games so far, RR have plenty of amends to make. However, to their credit, most of their matches have gone down to the wire, leaving them on the wrong side of the tide. The hosts will rely largely on opener Jos Buttler’s form whose 43-ball 89 took the game away from us in our last meeting on April 13.  

Key Player:

While one Englishman is holding the batting reins for RR, his fellow countryman Jofra Archer will be one to watch out for on Saturday. Mumbai’s batting unit will be aware of the threat Archer possesses since the medium pacer had sent Rohit Sharma, Quinton de Kock and Kieron Pollard back to the shed in our previous encounter. He will also attract a lot of eyes from England, especially after not being named in their World Cup squad.

The match begins at 4 PM IST in Jaipur on Saturday.