IPL 2021: Mumbai Indians will fear THIS team heading into the tournament

Mumbai Indians have not had a good time against Rajasthan Royals in the IPL for the past couple of seasons, losing consistently against the 2008 champions.

Mumbai Indians celebrate a wicket, Image credit: Facebook/Mumbai Indians
By Siddharth vishwanathan | Apr 5, 2021 | 2 Min Read follow icon Follow Us

Mumbai Indians have been the dominant team of the Indian Premier League for the last seven years. From 2013, Rohit Sharma’s side have won five titles. Starting in 2013, Mumbai Indians won the title in 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2020. With the win in 2020, Mumbai Indians are the second side after Chennai Super Kings to successfully defend the title. Mumbai Indians have a dominant head-to-head record against most teams in the IPL, with the exception of Sunrisers Hyderabad. However, there is one team that they fear the most. For Mumbai Indians, this team has proven to be a nightmare in the IPL for the last three years. 

Mumbai Indians have a winning percentage of 62 against Delhi Capitals, a staggering 83.3 against Kolkata Knight Riders, 75 against Chennai Super Kings and 66 against Royal Challengers Bangalore and Punjab Kings. Their winning percentage dips to 62 against Delhi Capitals while it is even against Sunrisers Hyderabad. Ever since 2018, Mumbai Indians have encountered a massive bogey in the form of Rajasthan Royals.

In six matches that Mumbai Indians have played against Rajasthan Royals, they have won only once and lost five. This makes their record the worst against any opponent in the last three years. 

Mumbai’s Rajasthan nightmares

Mumbai Indians have never managed to crack the Rajasthan Royals’ code ever since the end of their two-year ban. Before 2018, Mumbai Indians held a massive 10-5 head-to-head advantage against Rajasthan Royals. But, the situation has now changed.

Rajasthan Royals won both encounters against Mumbai Indians in IPL 2018. The first win was by three wickets in Jaipur. The second one was at the Wankhede stadium by seven wickets. In IPL 2019, Rajasthan Royals won the first match by four wickets at the Wankhede stadium. The streak continued as Rajasthan Royals registered a five-wicket win in Jaipur. 

In IPL 2020, Mumbai Indians finally ended the streak when they won by five wickets in Abu Dhabi. However, in the second match, Ben Stokes hit a century as Rajasthan Royals won by eight wickets in their chase of 196. In title-winning years, Mumbai Indians have really struggled to get the better of Rajasthan Royals.

With several key players missing for Rajasthan Royals, IPL 2021 gives Mumbai Indians a great chance to break the streak.





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