Rajasthan Royals will have one primary wish when they face the Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium on Friday – let there be no rain.
Their last two matches have been washed out due to the elements, one without a ball being bowled in Kolkata, and the other in Bangalore, when they were readying themselves for a chase of 200 at the always-exciting-for-the-batsmen Chinnaswamy.
Those two no results meant RR, the early pacesetters of IPL 2015, have gone three matches without a win, with their last completed match, against RCB in Ahmedabad, resulting in a heavy nine-wicket defeat.
The good thing about the IPL is that matches keep coming at you thick and fast, which leaves the Royals little room to feel sorry for themselves or think about what might have been had their last two matches gone ahead.
Up against a Mumbai Indians team coming off an impressive win against the Sunrisers Hyderabad, the Rajasthan Royals will need to put up the kind of performances they managed so often in their first few matches, if they are to end their winless run.
The likes of Shane Watson, Ajinkya Rahane and Steven Smith, who has not been at his ridiculous-run-scoring best in IPL 2015, need to put up those big runs, while the bowlers need to step up as well, especially after seeing AB De Villiers and Sarfaraz Khan tonk them for fun in Bengaluru on Wednesday.
The Mumbai Indians have not played since their bowling-inspired win over SRH last Saturday, and with rest – not that RR can complain too much about being overworked -- and momentum on their side, the former champions will look to make it two wins out of two and get that big run going in order to finish in the top four of the points table.
One of the key components of MI's bowling mojo has been Mitchell McClenaghan, who seems to have just eased that extra pressure off Lasith Malinga's shoulders, which has in turn helped the Sri Lankan perform, like only he can, as well.
"The most pleasing thing about [the win over SRH] was seeing how we worked together," McClenaghan told IPL's official website. "You have to bowl well, field well, put pressure and put your body on the line which brings the energy.
"We worked well together. We were like brothers out there. Hopefully, we can continue to do that and keep working together and move forward as a team."
MI will need to play as a team in order to stop RR, who, despite their quell in momentum, still remain on course, not just for a place in the playoffs, but a top-two finish. The batting remains a concern for the Mumbai Indians, and keeping Rohit Sharma for the middle order just does not seem to make enough sense.
Surely, the MI skipper must open with Lendl Simmons and set the tone for the rest of the innings.
Where to Watch Live
Get the Match Report, Score and Highlights HERE
MI vs RR is set to begin at 8 pm IST (3.30 pm BST, 10.30 am ET). Live coverage in India will be on Sony Max (Hindi), Sony Six (English), Sony Aath (Bengali) and Sony Kix (Telugu and Tamil), while the IPL 2015 match can also be watched via live streaming online on Hotstar and Starsports.com.
Viewers in the UK can watch the match live on Sky Sports, while the live stream option is on Watch Sky Sports and Sky Go. Audience in the USA can catch the game live on ESPN, while the Mumbai Indians vs Rajasthan Royals can also be live streamed on ESPN Cricket.
The rest of the world can watch Mumbai Indians vs Rajasthan Royals Live on Cricketgateway.
