In the 45th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 the Rajasthan Royals (RR) will be locking horns with the Mumbai Indians (MI) at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Sunday. Captain Rohit Sharma’s fitness would be a concern for MI as they will be looking to continue their winning run, while a depleted RR will be hoping to salvage some pride. Mumbai roared back to form by crushing Chennai Super Kings (CSK) with a 10-wicket win after their Super Over loss to the Kings XI Punjab (KXIP).

On the other hand, RR suffered an 8-wicket dominating loss against the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). In the event of Rohit missing out on Sunday as well, Quinton de Kock and Ishan Kisha will be expected to open again. MI bowlers are also wreaking havoc, especially the Kiwi fast bowler, Trent Boult, and Jasprit Bumrah, who are lethal upfront and in death. 

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For RR, the biggest worry is the form of skipper Steve Smith, who has made 265 runs from 11 matches and a misfiring top-order. They do possess quality players like Ben Stokes, Sanju Samson, and Jos Buttler, but the trio hasn’t managed to score consistently.  With two crucial points at stake, the management would be hoping that the three-click on Sunday, something which has not happened this season. 

Rajasthan Royals (RR)

Although their batting order needs a bit of tweaking, the Royals will be expected to retain their best XI. Although Kartik Tyagi went for a few runs against SRH, it’s unlikely they will make a change to their line-up.

Probable XI: Ben Stokes, Robin Uthappa, Sanju Samson (wk), Steven Smith (c), Jos Buttler, Riyan Parag, Rahul Tewatia, Jofra Archer, Shreyas Gopal, Ankit Rajpoot, Kartik Tyagi

Mumbai Indians (MI)

Had Rohit Sharma not been carrying the hamstring niggle, Mumbai wouldn’t;t have event thought of wouldn’t have made a change in their XI even against Chennai Super Kings. If Rohit is fit to play, then Saurabh Tiwary will miss out. Else, they should be playing with the same team.

Probable XI: Quinton de Kock (wk), Rohit Sharma/Saurabh Tiwary, Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Kieron Pollard (c), Krunal Pandya, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Rahul Chahar, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah