Quinton de Kock's unbeaten 70 recently helped Mumbai Indians defeat Rajasthan Royals in an exciting encounter.
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Mumbai Indians (MI) dropped Ishan Kishan and included Nathan Coulter Nile for their match against Rajasthan Royals (RR). It was a strange move in our opinion and actually ended up making the team a bit imbalanced. Quinton de Kock smashed an unbeaten 70 and saw his team home. As someone who has played for the Delhi-based franchise for quite some time, the conditions are well-known to him and we think De Kock could play a big role in this upcoming contest as well. It has been so refreshing to see the aggressive approach to batting from CSK. These are essentially the same bunch of players that were finding it hard to adapt in the previous season, but they have clearly improved their game. Faf du Plessis and Ruturaj Gaikwad are in tremendous form with the bat. They will be tested by the MI new ball attack and if they can get through, then they could set up the platform for the batsmen to follow. Moeen Ali at number three is always a threat and the rest of the batting lineup is quite potent as well.
Here are top 5 battles to watch out for:
In a clash of overseas players, two South Africans are all set for a big battle. Mumbai opener Quinton de Kock, who has been their prolific run-scorer this season, would vie for another domination. However, his South African teammate, Imran Tahir of Chennai would look to end his run early. Can De Kock spoil Tahir’s plans?
In another battle, two rookies would be looking to raise the bar of rivalry. Deepak Chahar is one of the best bowlers in the powerplay in the IPL. He has great variations, maintains a tight line and length and is very difficult to get away as his economy rate of 7.23 in the tournament indicates. MI’s Suryakumar Yadav has been in fine form with the bat, being their second-highest run-scorer. While he would aim to keep things going smooth, Deepak who has been their second-highest wicket-taker would look to spoil his party. Who will reign supreme?
Mumbai pacer Jasprit Bumrah has been one of the best bowlers this season and will aim to finish on top of the wicket-taking charts before the World Cup preparations get underway. However, Chennai’s Suresh Raina could very well spoil his rhythm at the worst possible time. While Raina is not a part of the contention for the upcoming T20 World Cup having announced his retirement, his determination to prove himself in IPL could become Bumrah’s nightmare.
Dwayne Bravo has been the main bowler for Chennai Super Kings in death overs. He has been CSK’s best bowler for years now. His variations in death overs are difficult to read. Pollard has performed well but needs to step up when the team requires the most. These two players are important and can be destructive. So, let’s see which of these two players can deliver for their teams. In the previous match against Chennai, Pollard played a match-winning innings while Bravo has been special with the ball.
Chennai’s opener Faf du Plessis has been in the form of his life, emerging as their second-highest run-scorer this season. Faf will look to counter any bowler in the world with his match-winning performance against SRH indicating the kind of form he is in. These two are likely to face each other at the start of the innings. It will be interesting to see Boult’s plan for Faf on Saturday.
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