Hardik Pandya and Sanju Samson during IPL 2024 (BCCI)
Hosts Rajasthan Royals (RR) will be facing a struggling Mumbai Indians (MI) unit in match number 38 of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 season. The much-awaited contest between the season’s table-toppers and five-time winners will be staged at the iconic Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur on April 22 and the action will commence from 7:30 PM IST onwards.
Ahead of the game, here is a look at the Dream11 prediction, the fantasy tips, the pitch report, the top player picks and the best-predicted XIs for the fantasy contests of the match.
RR vs MI Head-to-head Stats
Mumbai Indians holds a slight edge over Rajasthan Royals in terms of overall head-to-head clashes. The five-time winners also hold a 3-2 advantage over the Royals in terms of their past five meetups.
However, in their previous faceoff this IPL 2024 season, it was the Sanju Samson-led Rajasthan Royals unit that prevailed by seven wickets and with 27 balls to spare at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium.
Overall, Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals have faced each other on 30 occasions, including twice in the now-defunct Champions League T20. Mumbai Indians won 16 of those matches, while the Royals secured wins in 14 of them.
Currently placed at the top of the IPL 2024 points table, Rajasthan Royals will be aiming to sustain their superior run with another win.
The Mumbai Indians, on the other hand, need to form a string of wins in the next few weeks in a bid to jump to IPL 2024 playoffs reckoning. As of now, Hardik Pandya and co. are languishing at the bottom half of the points ladder.
Stats
Matches
Rajasthan Royals Won
Mumbai Indians Won
No Result
Overall
30
14
16
0
IPL
28
13
15
0
Sawai Mansingh Stadium
7
5
2
0
IPL 2023
1
0
1
0
RR vs MI Pitch Report
The Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Rajasthan has hosted four matches so far this IPL 2024 season. While the playing conditions here tends to provide some turn for the spinners, the surface has offered considerable assistance to batters off late.
The average first innings total this season at the venue itself has emerged as 189. The toss will not factor much into the outcome of the contest, considering teams batting first have enjoyed as much success as chasing teams this time around.
Sawai Mansingh Stadium Ground Stats (IPL 2024)
Matches: 4 Matches won batting first: 2 Matches won batting second: 2
Average first innings total: 189 Average second innings total: 184 Highest total recorded: 199/7 (20 overs) by Gujarat Titans vs Rajasthan Royals Lowest total recorded: 173/6 (20 overs) by Lucknow Super Giants vs Rajasthan Royals
Fantasy value from the pitch report
The Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Rajasthan has already hosted four high-scoring affairs this IPL 2024 season in four attempts. As per the aforementioned track record, fans can expect another high-scoring cracker at the venue.
While both teams boast of a staggering batting line-up, captains of the two sides will be inclined to include quality new-ball pace options to open the bowling. A specialist spinner or two might also come in handy to restrict run-flow in the middle overs.
RR vs MI Fantasy Cricket Tips
Rajasthan Royals Heavy Fantasy XI
Captain Sanju Samson and all-rounder Riyan Parag have emerged as the highest run-scorers for the Rajasthan Royals franchise this IPL 2024 season. Moreover, Parag even toppled RCB’s Virat Kohli at one stage of the tournament to bag the coveted ‘Orange Cap’ for a while. In case of selecting a Rajasthan Royals-heavy fantasy XI, it is imperative to pick both in-form batters in your team.
Among the bowlers, Yuzvendra Chahal has snared 12 wickets from just seven games to lead his team’s wicket-taking charts. He is followed by fast bowlers Trent Boult and Avesh Khan with seven wickets each to their names.
Mumbai Indians Heavy Fantasy XI
Former Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma continues to lead the run-scoring race for his team this season. The legendary opener has so far tallied 297 runs in seven innings at an average of nearly 50 and with a strike-rate of above 164. Tilak Varma has emerged as the next highest-scorer for the franchise with 208 runs at 41.60.
Jasprit Bumrah has snared 13 wickets from just seven innings and is the current recipient of the coveted ‘Purple Cap’. His pace mate Gerald Coetzee is not far behind on the season’s wicket-taking list, considering the South African quick has snapped 12 wickets off his own.
RR vs MI Winner Prediction
Rajasthan Royals, under Sanju Samson, are currently placed at the top of the IPL 2024 points table by securing six wins from just seven matches. Considering their recent track record, and familiarity with home conditions, Samson and co. will be considered as favorites to upstage the struggling Mumbai Indians unit once again.
RR vs MI Top Player Picks
Riyan Parag (RR)
IPL 2024 Stats: 318 runs in 7 matches
Riyan Parag has stacked up a staggering haul of 318 runs from just seven innings this IPL 2024 season, all while batting in the middle-order for the Rajasthan Royals. The dashing 22-year-old even clubbed sparkling half-centuries against Delhi Capitals, Mumbai Indians and Gujarat Titans earlier in the tournament.
Yuzvendra Chahal (RR)
IPL 2024 Stats: 12 wickets in 7 matches
Yuzvendra Chahal has managed to pick at least one wicket in each of his seven appearances this season. Moreover, Chahal also picked up a match-winning 3-11 during his previous meeting against Mumbai Indians on April 1 at the Wankhede Stadium.
Rohit Sharma (MI)
IPL 2024 Stats: 297 runs in 7 matches
Rohit Sharma finds himself among the top-five leading run-getters of the IPL 2024 season, and the highest among all Mumbai Indians players. The cricketer has pounded 297 runs from just seven innings, which included a turbulent ton against CSK, albeit in a losing cause last week.
Jasprit Bumrah (MI)
IPL 2024 Stats: 13 wickets in 7 matches
Jasprit Bumrah has secured two ‘Player of the Match’ awards in his previous three appearances for Mumbai Indians. While the speedster demolished Punjab Kings’ spirited efforts with figures of 3-21 at Mullanpur a few days ago, he picked up figures of 5-21 against RCB to extend his IPL 2024 wickets tally to 13 wickets from seven games.
RR vs MI Differential Picks
Jos Buttler celebrating his match-winning century against KKR in IPL 2024 (BCCI)
Jos Buttler (RR)
IPL 2024 Stats: 250 runs in 6 matches
England-based Rajasthan Royals opener Jos Buttler plundered match-winning tons against RCB and KKR in two of his previous three appearances this IPL 2024 season. Moreover, the 107* he punched out against KKR is widely considered among one of the greatest run-chase specials in the history of the IPL.
Gerald Coetzee celebrating a wicket in IPL 2024 for Mumbai Indians (BCCI)
Gerald Coetzee (MI)
IPL 2024 Stats: 12 wickets in 7 matches
Gerald Coetzee will enter the contest off the back of a match-winning three-fer against Punjab Kings. The South African paceman also shattered Delhi Capitals’ batting line-up in a high-scoring thriller earlier this month, and is currently ranked the third highest wicket-taker of the season.
RR vs MI Fantasy Expert Advice
Given the nature of the wicket and the form of the players, a 2-4-2-3 combination could work in this game.
RR vs MI Fantasy Team for Head-to-Head/Small Leagues
Jos Buttler celebrating his match-winning century against KKR in IPL 2024 (BCCI)
Gerald Coetzee celebrating a wicket in IPL 2024 for Mumbai Indians (BCCI)
