Mumbai Indians eye fourth straight win, Rajasthan Royals look to stay afloat

Mumbai Indians lock horns with an out-of-sorts Rajasthan Royals on Saturday in an IPL match in which home skipper Rohit Sharma is likely to return from injury after one-match absence.

A leg spasm had forced Rohit to miss an IPL game for the first time in 11 seasons when he sat out of Mumbai’s last game against Kings XI Punjab.

In his absence, stand-in skipper Kieron Pollard ensured MI continue their 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 best IPL figures of six for 12 against Sunrisers Hyderabad, Alzarri (15 not out) played a crucial cameo against Kings XI to romp the side home.

So 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 Royal a chance to defend 151 against Chennai Super Kings on Thursday night 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.