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Rajasthan Royals, who have not been consistent enough, bowed out of contention for the playoffs with a humiliating five wicket defeat against Deccan Chargers in Hyderabad. They must be ruing their close defeats against Delhi Daredevils and Chennai Super Kings but are left with no other options but to play for pride against the formidable Mumbai Indians.
Skipper Rahul Dravid has already proved that he is not a spent force and that too in the shorter version of the game which has never been his forte. He, along with Australian Shane Watson, Shaun Tait, Ajinkya Rahane and others would like to prove a point with better performances.
Mumbai are placed third with 18 points from 15 matches and Royal Challengers Bangalore have 17 points from 15 matches and they take on the lowly Deccan Chargers on Sunday in a day match. It will be a must-win situation for the visitors if RCB too wins.
Mumbai Indians have a strong side featuring the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Rohit Sharma, South African Herschelle Gibbs, West Indian Kieron Pollard and Ambati Rayudu. Rohit is in good nick with a hundred under his belt but Tendulkar is yet to play a big knock in the competition. The bowling also has a lethal look with Sri Lankan Lasith Malinga at the helm and sharing the top spot with 21 wickets with Sunil Narine and Morne Morkel.
R P Singh too produced a good spell against Kolkata Knight Riders but it was Narine who settled the issue in favour of Mumbai. Skipper Harbhajan Singh has been struggling for form but might bounce back. Pollard has been successful in picking up a few wickets so the visitors need not worry much.
The pink city has been witnessing sand storms and slight showers this week but still the wicket at the Sawai Man Singh Stadium is pretty good for batting and would provide a perfect platform for big guns like Tendulkar, Rohit, Pollard and Rayudu.
