IPL 2021, RR vs MI: Crucial match in playoff race as defending champs Mumbai face upbeat Rajasthan

Mumbai Indians’ mega-stars will be making one last ditch effort to put their derailed Indian Premier League 2021 campaign back on track when they take on a confident Rajasthan Royals in their penultimate league match on Tuesday.

The five-time champions were aiming for a hat-trick of titles but a poor show by their batters has led the team down and the title holders are they are yet to seal their last-four spot. In this backdrop, they face Rajasthan Royals, who stunned Chennai Super Kings with a superlative batting performance from two Mumbai men – Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shivam Dube.

The equation is simple for both the teams.

They have to not only win both their matches but also have to win big so to boost their net run-rates. Royals currently have a net run-rate of -0.337 and MI, after a poor batting show against Delhi Capitals, are seventh at -0.453.

The loser on Tuesday could well be out of the tournament as KKR are already on 14 points with a positive NRR of +0.294.

Read the detailed IPL 2021 playoff scenarios here

Therefore even if Mumbai win against Rajasthan and then happen to thrash laggards Sunrisers Hyderabad in their final match to reach 14 points, there’s no guarantee that they would be…

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