Mumbai Indians will be hoping to extend their three-match winning streak in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2019 when they host Rajasthan Royals at the Wankhede Stadium on Saturday. The three-time champions are in magnificent form and will be looking to strengthen their position in the top-four with a win over Rajasthan. RR, on the other hand, haven’t had the best of campaigns so far having won just one of their first six games. They will be eager to get two points against MI, but as seen in the past beating Mumbai at the Wankhede is never easy.

Saturday’s clash against RR will also be a very special, once in a lifetime opportunity for 21,000 underprivileged kids to watch their favourite stars at the Wankhede Stadium as part of MI’s Education & Sports for All (ESA) initiative. A unique mural, which the kids painted in an interactive session with Mrs. Nita Ambani and the MI squad on Thursday, will be on display at the Wankhede.

Head-to-head

MI 10–8 RR

Form Guide (Last 5 Games)

Mumbai Indians: W W W L W

Rajasthan Royals: L L W L L

From the MI dugout

After their thrilling win against Kings XI Punjab in the last game, the boys will be brimming with confidence when they return to the Wankhede to face Rajasthan. Our players seem to be getting stronger with every game and you can expect another big show from the boys against RR. Rohit Sharma is likely to return at the top of the batting order after he was rested due to muscle spasms for the KXIP match. He and the rest of our batsmen have enjoyed themselves at home this season and Saturday’s encounter is another opportunity for them to entertain the MI faithful. However, our bowlers will want to tighten things up and concede less than what we did against KXIP.

Key Player

After a Man of the Match display as stand-in captain, Kieron Pollard will be looking to kick on and pile on the runs. Pollard scored 83 from 31 balls in the last game and smashed an astonishing 10 sixes along the way. The big-hitting Trinidadian seems to be back to his devastating best, meaning Rajasthan must dismiss him early and not allow him to settle at the crease.

From the RR dugout

In stark contrast to our form, Rajasthan Royals have managed to win just one game so far and must turn their campaign around sooner rather than later, if they still aspire to make the playoffs. To be fair, it’s not that RR are playing that poorly at the moment. However, the rub of the green hasn’t gone their way and their composure in pressure situations has let them down. Having said that, RR cannot be underestimated with players like Ajinkya Rahane, Sanju Samson, Steve Smith, Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes in their ranks.

Key Player

Leg-spinner Shreyas Gopal has been one of the star performers for Rajasthan this season. He is the team’s leading wicket-taker with eight scalps and also has a good economy rate of 6.65. His most impressive outing in IPL 2019 came in RR’s seven-wicket victory over Royal Challengers Bangalore. He was declared the Man of the Match in that game and picked up the important wickets of Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers and Shimron Hetmyer to finish with figures of 3 for 12.