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The Mumbai Indians (MI) will host the Rajasthan Royals (RR) at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai for Match 42 of the IPL 2023 season. Both teams have had contrasting seasons so far and a massive two points are up for grabs here.
After winning three matches on the bounce, Mumbai find themselves in a rut again having lost their previous two games. Rohit Sharma and Co. were absolutely thrashed by the Gujarat Titans (GT) in their previous game and will need an inspirational performance against a strong RR side.
The Royals are high on confidence after completing the double over the Chennai Super Kings and they have always been a team that Mumbai have found tough to beat. With some absolute superstar names on both sides, here's a look at the three match-ups that could potentially decide where the game is heading on Sunday:
#3 Suryakumar Yadav vs Yuzvendra Chahal
Suryakumar Yadav has had a mixed bag as far as the IPL 2023 season is concerned. However, he has shown shades of brilliance, especially against opposition spinners. Arguably one of the best players of spin right now, 'SKY' will have the responsibility to keep the RR spinners at bay.
This is where his match-up against Yuzvendra Chahal could be an interesting one. SKY has scored 76 runs in 63 balls that he has faced from Chahal in T20 cricket. However, he has also been dismissed thrice and this would give Chahal a lot of confidence. This match-up could go either way, with both players having the courage to take on the other.
#2 Jos Buttler vs Jofra Archer
Jos Buttler has had a pretty ordinary IPL season by his standards so far, but he couldn't have asked for a better opposition than MI at the moment. In his last six innings against Mumbai, Buttler has averaged more than 92 and has won three Player of the Match awards.
The Mumbai Indians are likely to have the services of Buttler's compatriot and speedster Jofra Archer, who missed their previous game. While Archer has dismissed Buttler twice, the latter has scored 80 runs at a strike rate of 200 against the speedster. It will be interesting to see if Rohit throws the new ball to Archer to try and get Buttler early.
#1 Rohit Sharma vs Trent Boult
Arguably the blockbuster match-up in tonight's game will be RR pacer Trent Boult against Mumbai skipper and birthday boy Rohit Sharma. The opener has had an inconsistent IPL 2023 season so far where he has been able to get off to starts but hasn't converted most of them into big scores.
But Boult is back playing against his former franchise, with whom he achieved a lot of success. Playing under the lights at Wankhede, he could get decent swing and that could ring an alarm bell for the hosts.
Rohit has scored 67 runs in 48 balls that he has faced against Trent Boult in all T20s, but has also been dismissed four times. The result of this match-up could have a big influence on whether Mumbai will be able to topple Rajasthan.
