Rajasthan Royals seek to spoil Rohit Sharma's birthday in 1000th IPL game
Big picture - 1000th IPL game
On Sunday night, when Mumbai Indians face Rajasthan Royals at the Wankhede Stadium, it will be the 1000th match in the IPL. And it's fitting that the league's most successful team should be taking on the inaugural champions on this occasion.
For Rohit Sharma, too, this will be a special day. He turns 36, and Mumbai has picked this day to also celebrate his ten years as their captain. The first time he led them was on April 24, 2013.
The best gift for Rohit will probably be a win. Mumbai are currently ninth on the points table with three wins from seven games, and they come into this match after facing two successive defeats.
If Mumbai are searching for inspiration, they need not look any further than their opposition. Royals were also in a similar situation before thumping Chennai Super Kings in their previous game. Currently, they are second on the table and will be looking to reclaim the top spot from Gujarat Titans.
While there are many contests within this contest, how Mumbai bowl to Royals at the death could be a significant one. From overs 17 to 20, Mumbai have been the most expensive side this season, leaking 12.72 runs per over. In the same phase, Royals have scored at 12.03, the second-fastest after Titans (13.06).
Form guide
Mumbai Indians LLWWW (last five games, most recent first)
Rajasthan Royals WLLWW
Team news - Archer and Boult set to return
After a quick visit to Belgium to see an elbow specialist, Jofra Archer is expected to play against Royals. Trent Boult missed Royals' previous game with a niggle. He is also available now.
Impact Player strategy
Mumbai Indians
If fit, Archer is likely to replace Riley Meredith. Depending on whether Mumbai are batting first or bowling, one of Tilak Varma or Kumar Kartikeya could be used as Impact Player.
Probable XII: 1 Rohit Sharma (capt), 2 Ishan Kishan (wk), 3 Cameron Green, 4 Suryakumar Yadav, 5 Tilak Varma, 6 Tim David, 7 Nehal Wadhera, 8 Jofra Archer, 9 Piyush Chawla, 10 Arjun Tendulkar, 11 Kumar Kartikeya, 12 Jason Behrendorff
Rajasthan Royals
Left-arm seamer Kuldip Yadav was impressive against Super Kings, picking up 1 for 18 from his three overs, and should retain his place in the side. He and Devdutt Padikkal could be Royals' Impact Player pair.
Probable XII: 1 Yashasvi Jaiswal, 2 Jos Buttler, 3 Sanju Samson (capt, wk), 4 Devdutt Padikkal, 5 Shimron Hetmyer, 6 Dhruv Jurel, 7 R Ashwin, 8 Jason Holder, 9 Trent Boult, 10 Sandeep Sharma, 11 Yuzvendra Chahal, 12 Kuldip Yadav
Stats that matter - Tough test for Rohit and Kishan
- Rohit and Ishan Kishan could be in for a stern test. Sandeep Sharma has dismissed Rohit four times in 42 balls in T20s while giving away only 37 runs. Boult, meanwhile, has had the wood over Kishan: three dismissals for 32 runs in 37 balls.
- R Ashwin too has favourable match-ups against the Mumbai openers. He has dismissed Rohit three times in 120 balls while conceding only 110. He is yet to dismiss Kishan but has allowed him just 53 runs in 57 balls.
- In IPL 2023, Jos Buttler and Yashasvi Jaiswal have four 50-plus stands, the joint-most by any pair this season. They have added 370 runs together at 9.73 per over, the fastest among the pairs who opened at least twice this year.
Pitch and conditions
The Wankhede has hosted three games so far this season. In all three, the teams winning the toss opted to chase and were successful on two occasions. Sunday night's game could extend that trend further.
Quotes
"We all know what Jofra can do. He has been a fantastic bowler for many years now. He adds a different dimension to our attack: obviously some good pace, can bowl the new ball and he is very good at the death as well. This has been one area we have struggled with a bit, especially at the death. He can hopefully come in and fulfil that role for us, bowling in those situations."
Mumbai head coach Mark Boucher on what Archer brings to the side