In India, we have a belief – get the negatives out of the way right at the start and the rest of the journey will be smooth. In our case, it was the loss in our first game against Punjab Kings. While this may be a superstition, some Vivo Indian Premier League (IPL) teams may go to the extent of swearing by it. As it turns out, Rajasthan Royals did win their next game. It was a hard-fought victory in the end, but only after our bowlers set the evening up for us.

There were many positives in our victory over Delhi Capitals. Jaydev Unadkat started his season with a 3-wicket haul and the South African duo of David Miller and Chris Morris helped us chase down the target with solid performances.

It is a hat-trick of wicket-keeper captains, Sanju Samson is about to lead the Royals against. After KL Rahul & Rishabh Pant, it’s time to go against the Daddy of wicket-keeper skippers - Captain Cool MS Dhoni & the Daddy’s Army. It is youth versus experience.

It’s fair to say that when Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings walk out on the field in Mumbai on Monday, there won’t be much separating the two as far as recent records go. Both are coming into the encounter with one win and one loss in the season so far. Although the Royals have won just 9 out of the 23 games against CSK, the results have gone our way in half of the matches since 2018. Not to forget, we got the better of the Men in Yellow in both games last season.

Eyes on:

Tacky pitch or placid pitch? A lot has been said and written about the Wankhede being a big scoring ground where any total is chasable. But the pitch popped up a surprise in our game against Delhi Capitals. The ball didn’t come on to the bat as expected and the batters found it difficult to score.

Speaking of the City of Dreams, Jos Buttler’s numbers in the IPL are phenomenal against the local team Mumbai Indians. Equally boastful is his record against our opponent for Monday. In 5 innings against the Super Kings, Buttler has piled on 216 runs at an average of 72 and a strike rate of 150+. His highest score against the opposition is 95*. He got a good start in the first game, but a big score is still awaited from Jos in IPL 2021. Will this match be the one where we gets it? We sure hope so.


Key Battles:

Sanju Samson v Ravindra Jadeja

Although our captain’s numbers against CSK are not amongst his best, he enjoys facing the spin of Ravindra Jadeja. The two have met in 7 innings in the IPL and Samson has scored 62 runs off the 37 deliveries he has faced from Jadeja at a strike rate of 167.6. The CSK all-rounder has had a fair share of success against Sanju, dismissing him twice.

David Miller v Dwayne Bravo

David Miller has an average of 44.5 and strikes at 148 against Dwayne Bravo, who has managed to get him out just twice in 11 T20 encounters. The South African southpaw would be happy to face Bravo as he comes into the game carrying the sensational form from his half-century in our previous game.

Chris Morris v Suresh Raina

Chris Morris loves to bowl against the Chennai Super Kings, his first IPL team, and has enjoyed great success against the Chinna Thaala - Suresh Raina. Morris has got Raina out four times in eight T20 innings and has also kept him quiet - the experienced left hander has scored at only a run-a-ball against him.


Mumbai can certainly do with a nice dose of coolness, but we are bracing ourselves for a hot contest. While CSK have experience on their side, the Royals have the energy of youth to counter it with the right amount of experience to boot. Cricket fans can expect another exciting game.