FANTASY
Follow UsRajasthan Royals will take on Mumbai Indians in Match 44 of IPL 2022. The fortunes of both sides have gone in opposite directions. Rajasthan are a strong contender for the playoffs with one foot inside the door. Mumbai are all but out of the race already. However, they are still looking for the elusive first win and would do everything in their capacity to break the losing streak.
Ground Details and Team Combination
After hosting 13 games this IPL season without much of a break, the DY Patil Sports Academy will be hosting its first game in a week. Hence, there is a good chance we may see a refurbished track for this game.
However, if similar trends continue, we have a lot of helpful insights for you. The average first innings score at the venues has been 170 which indicates something for both batters and bowlers.
Spinners have bowled at an economy of only 7.5 runs per over, the best among all four venues. In terms of wickets, spinners’ average of 29.7 is the second best. Pacers have been most effective at the death where their average of 19.9 is the best among all venues.
Team Suggestion
The team we've picked has a good mix of world-class batters and bowlers. But remember, while you could go for the above team, you also have the option of choosing your team from Cricket.com’s Fantasy Research Centre. You can use this tool to build your team with the help of algorithms.
Captain Suggestion
If you want to pick anyone else apart from Jos Buttler to be your captain, do it at your own risk. He didn’t fire in the last game but the Englishman has been the batter of the season. In eight matches, he already has 499 runs including three hundreds. His contest against one of the best bowling line-ups in RCB will be the one to watch out for but given his sensational form, it’s the Englishman we are backing.
Our Criclytics Player Projection predicts Buttler to score 42-64 runs in this match
X-Factors
The youngster Tilak Varma has been the only silver lining of an otherwise disastrous campaign for Mumbai. He has been the highest run-scorer for Mumbai, scoring 272 at an impressive average of 45.3. The strike-rate of 140.2 speaks for his fluency. Hence, he is a must-pick player in this match.
Our Criclytics Player Projection predicts Tilak to score 25-37 runs in this match
With a number of impactful runs, Shimron Hetmyer is the second-highest run-scorer for Rajasthan Royals this season (224). In red-hot form, his scores in the season read 32, 35, 42*, 59* and 29. Moved to number four now, from five, there is every chance he can ride the crest of his form against RCB.
Our Criclytics Player Projection predicts Hetmyer to score 13-19 runs in this match
Here are the top-10 picks as per Criclytics projected points-
Match-Ups
The most notable battle of this contest lies between Rohit Sharma and Trent Boult which will unfold itself from the start of Mumbai’s innings itself. Boult has dismissed Rohit four times in T20 cricket without conceding much. Given Rohit’s struggle and Mumbai’s fortunes this season, a fifth dismissal is on the cards.
Probable XIs
Rajasthan Royals: Jos Buttler, Devdutt Padikkal, Sanju Samson (c & wk), Shimron Hetmyer, Daryl Mitchell, Riyan Parag, R Ashwin, Trent Boult, Kuldeep Sen, Prasidh Krishna, Yuzvendra Chahal
Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma (c), Ishan Kishan (wk), Dewald Brevis, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav, Kieron Pollard, Hrithik Shokeen, Daniel Sams, Murugan Ashwin, Riley Meredith, Jasprit Bumrah
