Now, looking at the match against RR, we don’t expect MI to make too many changes. In fact, they may well continue with the same lineup they’ve used so far. There might be temptation to replace Quinton de Kock or even Gerald Coetzee, but we hope both of them will get another chance. MI’s biggest issue is their in-game bowling tactics. They need to stop saving Jasprit Bumrah exclusively for the latter part of the bowling innings and utilize him to create impressive spells throughout. The lack of quality spin options is hurting them, and there aren’t many choices in the lineup either. This also makes the use of Hardik as a bowler even more crucial. The batting is in better form, and now that almost all the batsmen have scored some runs, MI should be more confident in getting the required amount of runs. Ishan Kishan, Rohit Sharma, Naman Dheer, Tilak Varma, and Tim David form a very strong lineup in their current form. We believe Tilak Varma and Naman Dheer offer excellent value for players looking to back them in the individual run markets. The task for MI will be to get their bowling unit to do their job against a very strong RR lineup. If that happens, we could see MI win their first match of the season.
RR is currently showing exceptional results in IPL 2024. They managed to get the required number of points without a single major contribution from Yashasvi Jaiswal or Jos Buttler. Both of them enjoy playing at Wankhede, and perhaps it’s their time to shine, but the emergence of Riyan Parag, the continued brilliance of Sanju Samson, and the impressive abilities of Shimron Hetmyer are proving to be huge pillars of success for RR. In favorable conditions, it’s easy to see how this RR lineup can take the game to MI and defeat them with their powerful batting abilities. Riyan Parag has strung together six consecutive innings in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. He started IPL 2024 with two big performances in a row and hopes to showcase himself at the upcoming T20 World Cup. In his current form, he’s one of the most dangerous hitters, and he’s one to bet on. RR’s bowling is quite balanced. They have Trent Boult and Nandre Burger attacking up front, Yuzvendra Chahal and R. Ashwin as twins in the middle, and Avesh Khan fighting to the death with the support of Sandeep Sharma. Everyone knows what RR’s tactics will be, but that still doesn’t make it easy to counter them. The only real weakness we see in RR is their lack of batting depth compared to MI. Playing R. Ashwin in the top 7, as was the case in the previous match, is not ideal and makes them vulnerable to early wickets.
