IPL 2019, MI vs RR Match Preview: Focus on Rohit Sharma, Kieron Pollard as hosts Mumbai seek fourth straight win; Royals hope for turnaround

Mumbai: West Indian duo of Kieron Pollard and Alzarri Joseph will hog the limelight when Mumbai Indians (MI) lock horns with an out-of-sorts Rajasthan Royals (RR) in an IPL match in which home skipper Rohit Sharma’s return from injury will also be awaited here on Saturday. A leg spasm had forced Rohit to miss an IPL game for the first time in 11 seasons when he set out of Mumbai’s last game against Kings XI Punjab (KXIP). [caption id=“attachment_6429691” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Kieron Pollard led Mumbai to a stunning win in their last game, against KXIP. Sportzpics[/caption] In his absence, stand-in skipper Kieron Pollard ensured MI continue its good run as his whirlwind 83-run knock helped the side script a three-wicket win in a humdinger on Wednesday. The winning runs were hit by 22-year-old Alzarri Joseph, who has been the new sensation in this year’s cash-rich T20 league. After a dream debut where he returned with the best ever IPL figures of six for 12 against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), Joseph (15 not out) played a crucial cameo against Kings XI to romp the side home. It would be interesting to see whether the Antigua-born Joseph and the big-hitting Pollard can carry their form into Saturday’s game. Another West Indian who would be in focus is Jofra Archer, who had given Rajasthan Royals a chance to defend 151 against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on Thursday with a superb spell of fast bowling. Mumbai are currently placed at the third spot with four wins from six matches, while Rajasthan are languishing at the seventh position with a solitary win from six matches. Rohit’s injury had given a scare to India ahead of the World Cup but Pollard has made it clear that the skipper missed the last game just as a precautionary measure and he should be back in the next game. “Obviously, Rohit is the captain of the team and it was only a precautionary measure for the team. He should be back in the next game,” Pollard had said. Rohit’s inclusion will not only put to rest any doubts about his fitness but also boost the Mumbai’s batting line-up, which also comprises Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, and Suryakumar Yadav. The hosts have death-overs’ specialist Jasprit Bumrah along with Australian pacer Jason Behrendorff apart from Joseph and on their day, they can rip apart any good batting line up. Rajasthan would be wary of MI’s attack after they were reduced to a 53 for three by CSK in their last game. None of the batsmen could score big, with Ben Stokes emerging as the top-scorer with 28 runs. RR’s batting line-up, including skipper Ajinkya Rahane, Sanju Samson, Steve Smith, and Jos Buttler will need to pull up their socks to confront the Mumbai bowlers at the Wankhede Stadium. Archer had a decent outing against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and his performance would also be key. Rajasthan Royals’ pacers Jaydev Unadkat and Dhawal Kulkarni along with Shreyas Gopal and leggie Riyan Parag would have to deliver for their skipper if they have to stay alive and make it to the Playoffs. English all-rounders Ben Strokes, who was hit for a six by New Zealand’s Mitchell Santner to seal the four-wicket win for Chennai, will have to come up with something special with both bat and ball. Teams (from): Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma (C), Quinton de Kock (WK), Suryakumar Yadav, Yuvraj Singh, Kieron Pollard, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Mitchell McClenaghan, Jason Behrendorff, Mayank Markande, Rahul Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah, Alzarri Joseph, Anmolpreet Singh, Siddhesh Lad, Ankul Roy, Evin Lewis, Pankaj Jaiswal, Ben Cutting, Ishan Kishan (wk), Aditya Tare, Rasikh Salam, Barinder Sran, Jayant Yadav. Rajasthan Royals: Steve Smith, Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer, Jos Buttler, Ashton Turner, Ish Sodhi, Oshane Thomas, Liam Livingstone, Ajinkya Rahane (C), Sanju Samson (WK), Shubham Ranjane, Stuart Binny, Shreyas Gopal, Sudhesan Midhun, Jaydev Unadkat, Prashant Chopra, Mahipal Lomror, Aryaman Birla, Riyan Parag, Dhawal Kulkarni, Krishnappa Gowtham, Varun Aaron, Shashank Singh, Manan Vohra, Rahul Tripathi. The match will starts at 4 PM and will be shown live on TV by Star Sports Network. The game can also be streamed live on Hotstar. For all the latest news, opinions and analysis from IPL 2019, click here For the full schedule, date, time and venue of all the matches of IPL 12, click here Check out the full points table for IPL 2019, including holders of Orange and Purple Caps