Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals are set to return to the field after a lengthy break. Despite the contrasting fortunes of the two teams in recent years, Royals have had the better of the five-time champions in this period, winning five out of six games. With several of their foreign players leaving the tournament, the options at hand are limited. After the injuries to Jofra Archer and Ben Stokes, Royals have also lost the services of Andrew Tye and Liam Livingstone with the duo opting to leave the bubble. In the last six matches between the two sides, Jofra Archer had picked 12 wickets at an economy rate of 6.83. His absence will leave a big void to fill.
However, the form of ace opener Jos Buttler will remain a concern for the Royals. The team batting second won five out of seven games (including one via Super Over) at the Feroz Shah Kotla during the 2019 season, the last time the ground hosted IPL matches. Defending IPL champions Mumbai Indians (MI) will aim for some consistency. Mumbai have suffered two back-to-back defeats. Rohit has been consistent at the top of the order for MI. He's been off to good starts, setting the tone for the middle-order to take over. With 201 runs from five matches that include one fifty, the MI skipper will look to return to form against a struggling RR. Bumrah is yet to make a valuable contribution for MI this season. Suryakumar Yadav, has enjoyed a decent run in the middle for MI this season, with 154 runs from five matches at an average of 30.80 and a strike rate of 143.92. His battle against RR's Chris Morris will be a key battle.
