Produced by: Tarun Mishra Designed by: Manoj Kumar
On Monday, April 1, Mumbai Indians (MI) will host their inaugural game of the season at the historic Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. The five-time IPL champions will face off against the inaugural champions Rajasthan Royals (RR).
Mumbai Indians, led by Hardik Pandya, have had a rough start to their season, losing their first two matches. They face Rajasthan Royals, who are among the unbeaten teams so far. Hardik's leadership and performance are under scrutiny, especially as he replaces Rohit Sharma as captain. Meanwhile, Rajasthan's Riyan Parag has been in stellar form, contributing significantly to their victories. It remains to be seen how Mumbai fares in their first home game and if Hardik can turn things around.
Wankhede Stadium is renowned as a batting-friendly venue, offering consistent conditions throughout the match. With short boundaries and minimal pitch variation, it's conducive to high-scoring encounters. The dew factor often aids chasing teams, making run chases more manageable. In the 109 IPL matches held at Wankhede, chasing teams have won 59 times, while those batting first have won 50. The average first-innings score stands at 169. Weather-wise, there's no forecast of rain, ensuring fans can anticipate a complete game on Monday.
In Mumbai, the temperature at the start of the match will hover around 30 degrees Celsius before dropping to 27 degrees Celsius later on. While there's no rain in the forecast, the humidity is expected to reach a high of 73%.
Ishan Kishan (wk), Rohit Sharma, Naman Dhir, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya (C), Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Piyush Chawla, G Coetzee, Jasprit Bumrah, Kwena Maphaka
Yashasvi Jaiswal, Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson (c & wk), Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Shimron Hetmyer, Ravichandran Ashwin, Trent Boult, Yuzvendra Chahal, Avesh Khan, Sandeep Sharma
The match between Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals is scheduled for 7:30 PM IST on Monday, April 1.
In their IPL history, Mumbai and Rajasthan have clashed in just 28 matches. Mumbai emerged victorious in 15 encounters, while Rajasthan secured wins in 12 matches. One match between the two teams ended in a tie. Mumbai's highest total against Rajasthan stands at 214, whereas Rajasthan's highest score against Mumbai is 212.
According to Google's win probability, Mumbai has a 53% chance of defeating Rajasthan in their third match.