IPL 2022, MI vs RR: Key Players To Look Out For In The 'Battle Of Blues'

MI vs RR IPL 2022: 5-time IPL champions Mumbai Indians (MI) will take on inaugural IPL champions Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the 9th match of the IPL 2022, at Dr DY Patil Sports Academy, Mumbai. 

On one hand, MI started off their IPL 2022 campaign yet again with a defeat as Delhi Capitals handed them a 6-wicket defeat in a thriller. Whereas the blue jerseys of Rajasthan Royals began their campaign with an emphatic 61 run win against Sunrisers Hyderabad. 

Both these teams would eye to win this match while the season has begun, one team looking for their first win of the season while the other would look to continue the winning momentum.

Here are some key players who can play a game-changing role in the encounter of the Blues. 

Mumbai Indians -

Ishan Kishan 

The young keeper-batter from Patna has continued with his good form from the last season as he smacked 81 runs off just 48 balls in the match against Delhi Capitals. The 23-year old left-hander will once again open the innings for MI and will have the onus on him to take on Prasidh Krishna, who has been lethal in the powerplays. Kishan would shoulder the responsibility to provide a good start and even remain not out till the end similar to the match against Delhi Capitals. 

Suryakumar Yadav

Indian batter Suryakumar Yadav was out of action due to a thumb hairline fracture he suffered in the T20I series against West Indies. The return of the right-handed middle-order batter, who was retained for 8 crores INR by Mi, will definitely strengthen the batting lineup.  The 31-year old bats with an average & a strike rate of 25.79 & 145.71 respectively against pacers whereas 41.21 and 123.27 against the spinners, and hence can bat well enough at any point of the game.

Rajasthan Royals 

Shimron Hetmyer

The explosive batter from West Indies came out to bat at #5 in the 15th over against SRH and smacked 32 runs off 13 balls with 2 fours and 3 sixes before Natarajan cleaned him up in the last over. The left-hander has a reputation of destroying the bowling with his huge shots but has failed to leave his mark in the IPL. With 549 runs in 30 innings at an average of 26.14, Hetmyer has smacked only 2 scores of 50+ in his IPL career. However, his innings against SRH look promising enough for a good season and this may very well be the season this West Indian leaves his mark.

Prasidh Krishna

Also Read: IPL 2022 - Scorecard

The young Indian pacer is immensely impressed with his bowling in powerplay against SRH, a spell that won the match for Rajasthan Royals. Krishna dismissed Hyderabad captain Williamson in the very first over and went on to dismiss Rahul Tripathi for a duck in the 3rd over, completing a wicket maiden. The 26-year old bowler gave away just 2 runs in his 3 overs in the powerplay, picking up 3 wickets. Against the opening pair of Rohit & Ishan, Prasidh would have a huge responsibility of not letting 5-time champions get to a good start along with former MI player Trent Boult.