Rajasthan Royals vs Mumbai Indians, Abu Dhabi

Pro Tip: Trust Quinton de Kock's fantastic run of form and Jos Buttler's record against Mumbai.

Our XI: Quinton de Kock, Sanju Samson, Jos Buttler, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, Krunal Pandya, Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer, Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult, Shreyas Gopal.

Substitutes: Rahul Tewatia, Rohit Sharma, Kieron Pollard, Steven Smith

Player availability: Rohit Sharma is still recovering from a hamstring injury. He is likely to be fit soon but could miss this game. All other players are available for selection.

NOTE: We might not always be able to tip you off about late injury (or other relevant) updates, so please finalise your team after the toss.

Captain: Quinton de Kock

De Kock had a slow start to the season but has found some scintillating form now and is making the most of it. He has scored four fifties and a 46* in his last six innings. He has now scored 368 runs in the tournament, out of which 186 have come in the powerplay. If he can get past the early threat of Jofra Archer, he should make a big score yet again. In all T20s, the de Kock vs Archer story goes: 25 balls, 42 runs and only one dismissal.

Vice-captain: Jos Buttler

Buttler has an amazing record against the Mumbai Indians since 2018, scoring 259 runs in four innings at a strike rate of 175. He made 70 the last time these two teams met as well. We are making him vice-captain only because he is now batting slightly lower down the order.

Hot Picks

Suryakumar Yadav: Yadav has scored a couple of match-winning fifties and one of them came against the Royals. In the likely absence of Sharma, Yadav will look to take more responsibility and score big.

Jofra Archer: Archer has been bowling with great pace and accuracy consistently, especially in the powerplay. He has picked up 15 wickets in the tournament at an economy of 6.61. He has been slicing through top-order batsmen in the last few games and has picked up seven wickets in the powerplay this season at an economy of 4.65.

Jasprit Bumrah: Bumrah has picked up six wickets in the last three games at an economy of 5.91. He has been brought on for one-over spells to pick up wickets in every phase of the game and Bumrah has delivered more often than not. He picked up 4.20 against the Royals in the previous encounter.

Differential Picks

Krunal Pandya: Krunal has been bowling three overs on an average every game. Though he is bowling some tough overs, Pandya's economy is only 7.45. Given Hardik Pandya and Kieron Pollard haven't really batted much this season, he is a better option as he bowls and could get to bat if a couple of early wickets fall for Mumbai.

Ishan Kishan: Kishan has scored a couple of fifties and played some decent cameos. He could open again and that is definitely his preferred position. He averages 41 as an opener in the IPL and strikes at 145.68.

Alternate Scenarios

• Sharma is likely to sit out from this game as well. In case he plays, replace Kishan with him.

• The average first-innings total at the venue in the last four games is 130 and the teams bowling first have had a couple of bowlers firing for them, bowling their opponents out cheaply. Both these teams have such bowlers among their ranks. So an alternate captain choice is Bumrah and vice-captain Trent Boult if the Mumbai Indians bowl first and Archer captain along with Ben Stokes vice-captain if the Royals bowl first.