Venue: Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah
Time: 7:30 PM IST
Average score at venue: 167
Win percentage while batting first: 42.86%
Pitch conditions:
- Both Team Rajasthan and Team Mumbai will be desperate for a big win on Tuesday night given that they are languishing at the bottom of the Indian T20 League 2021 points table and do not have enough time or opportunities left in hand to turn around the tide. The pitch at Sharjah, which is batting-friendly and has been kind on the bowlers this year, should provide ample of support to batsmen.
- With 66.61% of the wickets coming their way, fast bowlers have had a better time in Sharjah compared to the spin bowlers, who have 33.39% of the dismissals to their credit.
Weather prediction:
After an overcast start to the day, the skies in Sharjah will clear up as the afternoon progresses and by the evening, the clouds would also have made way for a clear sky. The temperature is expected to be at a high of 36°C during the noon, which is expected to drop down to 33°C around the match hours.
HEAD-TO-HEAD RECORD:
Matches played: 24
Team Rajasthan won: 11
Team Mumbai won: 12
No result: 1
Last 5 matches:
Team Rajasthan won: 3
Team Mumbai won: 2
No result: –
Top 3 players from Team Rajasthan: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Evin Lewis, Shivam Dube
Top 3 players from Team Mumbai: R Sharma, Quinton de Kock, Jasprit Bumrah
Top picks for H2H/WTA contest (top 5 players each):
Top 5 players from Team Rajasthan: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Evin Lewis, Shivam Dube, Rahul Tewatia, Sanju Samson
Top 5 players Team Mumbai: R Sharma, Quinton de Kock, Jasprit Bumrah, Saurabh Tiwary, Suryakumar Yadav
Q&A
Should I pick more bowlers, batsmen or all-rounders?
With the teams standing right at the end of the Indian T20 League 2021 league stage and three of them already into the next round, the fight has been left between five teams – Mumbai, Rajasthan, Punjab, Hyderabad and Kolkata – to grab the fourth and final spot which is up for grabs. Not just the contest on Tuesday night between Team Rajasthan and Team Mumbai at Sharjah, each of the remaining Indian T20 League 2021 league matches can be expected to be run-riots with teams looking to flex their batting muscles and cause as much damage as possible to the opponent, in their bid to not only earn the 2 vital points but also make giant strides with their respective Net Run Rates (NRR).
From which team should I pick more players in my XI? Which team is stronger?
There is certainly not a lot but their own reputation is what separates Team Rajasthan and Team Mumbai. On one hand there is a team that won the inaugural Indian T20 League but never ever presented such serious challenges to the following editions and titles, and on the other hand there are the defending champions and five-time title winners. No other team has been as successful as the Team Mumbai in Indian T20 League but the 2-2021 season does not seem to be theirs, with the Rohit-led side languishing at the second-last spot with only 5 wins and 7 losses from 12 matches giving them 10 points and a negative NRR of -0.453. On their part, Rajasthan have similar returns from 12 matches but a tad better NRR puts them above Team Mumbai, which implies that there are no clear favourites for this contest, but to some extent, the Royals seem to be having more in-form players for this Indian T20 League 2021 season.
MORE INFORMATION: According to reports, for Team Mumbai to make it to the Indian T20 League 2021 playoffs, they not only have to win their remaining two matches but also win by a combined margin of 200 runs. On top of that, if Kolkata are able to beat Team Rajasthan – there are little reasons why Kolkata should not – Mumbai could find themselves knocked out of the race to the Indian T20 League playoffs this year. At the same time, for the Sanju Samson-led Team Rajasthan to qualify, they must beat Team Mumbai and Kolkata in their remaining two matches, which will also rule out both these teams from the race to the final four.
Players’ form: Team Rajasthan will be thrilled with the way their batsmen went about their jobs against a team as daunting and intimidating as Chennai, successfully chasing a total of 190 with more than two overs to spare. Apart from the initial fireworks provided by the opening pair of Evin Lewis and Yashasvi Jaiswal, the biggest highlight was the knock from Shivam Dube, who perhaps played his best innings with the bat in Indian T20 League so far in his fledgling career. On the other hand, Team Mumbai have their backs firmly pressed against the wall and they will want to come out all guns blazing in their remaining two matches. For the defending champions, in their previous contest which turned out to be a low-scoring affair in which Team Mumbai lost, Suryakumar Yadav served another remainder of all that he can achieve with the bat. While Suryakumar’s eventual return would have pleased Team Mumbai but also made them wonder what if that had happened a few matches ago.
Changes in squad (if any): NO
LIKELY XIs:
Team Rajasthan: Evin Lewis, Yashaswi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson (c&wk), Shivam Dube, Glenn Phillips, David Miller, Rahul Tewatia, Akash Singh, Mayank Markande, Chetan Sakariya, Mustafizur Rahman.
Team Mumbai: R Sharma (c), Quinton de Kock (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Saurabh Tiwary, Hardik Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Krunal Pandya, Jayant Yadav, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult.
FANTASY XI: Yashasvi Jaiswal (vc), R Sharma (c), Quinton de Kock (wk), Sanju Samson, Suryakumar Yadav, Saurabh Tiwary, Hardik Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Jasprit Bumrah, Rahul Tewatia, Trent Boult.
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Team Rajasthan, Team Mumbai lock horns in a must-win clash
With the possibility of being eliminated from the Indian T20 League 2021 growing bigger with every passing game, Team Rajasthan and Team Mumbai will aim to give their everything and record as big victory as possible, when the two teams meet in Sharjah on Tuesday night for the Match No 51.
Between them, Team Rajasthan and Team Mumbai have six Indian T20 League titles from a possible 14 so far, but yet these two teams find themselves at the bottom of the Indian T20 League 2021 points table, having done only better than the tournament’s worst [performing team in Hyderabad.
For the Team Rajasthan, who have been the perennial under-performers in Indian T20 League irrespective of the talent and depth in the squad they carry, the race to the Indian T20 League 2021 playoffs was perhaps over when the likes of Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer and Jos Buttler – their star overseas players – withdrew from the event in India as well as in the UAE.
Rajasthan did try to fill in the gaps with other overseas players such as Evin Lewis and Tabraiz Shamsi, but the desired results have not come their way in the manner they would have liked.
Both Team Rajasthan and Team Mumbai have played 12 matches each so far, from which they have 5 wins, 7 defeats and only the NRR – in negative for both the teams – separating them.
For Team Mumbai, everything that could go wrong has gone wrong as far as their batting is concerned. Neither of their openers in Rohit and de Kock are in the form they can get in, their No 3s in Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar have struggled for runs largely, their famous troika of all-rounders in Kieron Pollard, Hardik and Krunal Pandya have been found wanting whereas the only player who is carrying some kind of form is Saurabh Tiwary who at times has waged lone battles without any support.
For Team Mumbai as well as Team Rajasthan it is imperative to win both their remaining matches and hope that the other mathematical factors involving the NRR goes their way. But as things stand, it is incredibly difficult for either teams to make their way into the final four with Kolkata looking set in the pole position to grab the final spot, with the likes of Chennai, Bangalore and Delhi having sealed the first three berths.
