Mumbai: When Mumbai Indians were on a losing spree in the UAE leg of the IPL, thoughts of making the playoff stage would have been brushed aside as wishful thinking. The Rohit Sharma-led side found a magic wand corner upon returning to India and registered six wins from eight games to put them firmly in contention for a spot in the final four. They will be up against Rajasthan Royals in the final league match of the IPL on what promises to be a super Sunday here at the Wankhede Stadium.
Rajasthan, who at one stage looked to sail through the playoffs are guilty of not finishing the job. They now run a risk of being eliminated from the tournament by a side that they allowed to strike back. When Mumbai played Rajasthan on their home turf in Ahmedabad, the Shane Watson-led side made four changes and decided to rest their key players Ajinkya Rahane and spinner Praveen Tambe. They misread the slow turner and squandered the game also their position in the table. To make matters worse, they also lost against Punjab on Saturday and are now flirting with danger.
The battle of the blue brigade under lights is not only going to be a contest of skills but also numbers. All is still not lost for Rajasthan as with 14 points and a net run-rate of +0.247 they are much better placed than Mumbai, who have 12 points and a net run-rate of -0.086. While a win will guarantee Royals a place in the final four, even a loss by a small margin will see them through.
Mumbai’s approach in the do-or-die game will largely be dominated by equations they need to achieve. Roughly, if Mumbai bat first and set a target of 150, they need to beat Rajasthan by 42 runs and if they are chasing, they need to achieve the same in around 15 overs.
While the job may appear difficult for the home side, they will gain confidence from their own performance in the Champions League last year. Facing a similar scenario, Mumbai needed to overhaul Perth Scorchers’ target of 150 in 14.2 overs to qualify for the semi-final. Mumbai achieved the target with an over to spare and even went on to win the trophy.
