{"id":2970,"date":"2026-04-07T08:50:29","date_gmt":"2026-04-07T03:20:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/rr-vs-mi-match-preview-will-hardik-pandya-play-mi-skipper-returns-to-training-cricket-news\/"},"modified":"2026-04-07T08:50:29","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T03:20:29","slug":"rr-vs-mi-match-preview-will-hardik-pandya-play-mi-skipper-returns-to-training-cricket-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/rr-vs-mi-match-preview-will-hardik-pandya-play-mi-skipper-returns-to-training-cricket-news\/","title":{"rendered":"RR vs MI Match Preview: Will Hardik Pandya play? MI skipper returns to training | Cricket News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"e9jwa\">\n<div class=\"vdo_embedd\">\n<div class=\"GfdvZ\">\n<section class=\"_bIDB  clearfix id-r-component leadmedia undefined undefined  E9tg9 \" style=\"top:0px\">\n<div class=\"_bIDB\" data-ua-type=\"1\" onclick=\"stpPgtnAndPrvntDefault(event)\">\n<div class=\"ypVvZ\">\n<div class=\"WGttI\"><img src=\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/thumb\/msid-130074722,imgsize-70774,width-400,height-225,resizemode-4\/mumbai-indians.jpg\" alt=\"RR vs MI Match Preview: Will Hardik Pandya play? MI skipper returns to training\" title=\"Mumbai Indians coach Mahela Jayawardene and captain Hardik Pandya. (Pic credit: IPL)\" decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Ta7d_ img_cptn\"><span title=\"Mumbai Indians coach Mahela Jayawardene and captain Hardik Pandya. (Pic credit: IPL)\">Mumbai Indians coach Mahela Jayawardene and captain Hardik Pandya. (Pic credit: IPL)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>GUWAHATI: It\u2019s still early days in the season but Rajasthan Royals and Mumbai Indians head into Tuesday\u2019s clash at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium on contrasting notes.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"1\"\/>The Royals have built early momentum with back-to-back wins while the five-time champions are searching for consistency after a sixwicket loss to Delhi Capitals, following a dominant opening victory over Kolkata Knight Riders.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"4\"\/><span class=\"strong\" data-ua-type=\"1\" onclick=\"stpPgtnAndPrvntDefault(event)\">Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@toisports\" rel=\"noopener nofollow noreferrer\" styleobj=\"[object Object]\" class=\"\" target=\"\" commonstate=\"[object Object]\" frmappuse=\"1\">SUBSCRIBE NOW!<\/a><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"7\"\/>Rajasthan began their campaign with a crushing win over Chennai Super Kings at their adopted home in Guwahati and followed it up with a nervy but smart victory over Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad. Defending just 15 runs in the final two overs to seal a six-run win in the last game, the Riyan Parag-led side is brimming with confidence and will look to continue its winning run in its second outing here.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"11\"\/>Mumbai, meanwhile, will be keen on the return of captain <a href=\"https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/sports\/cricket\/player-profile\/hardik-pandya\/63751\" styleobj=\"[object Object]\" class=\"\" commonstate=\"[object Object]\" frmappuse=\"1\">Hardik Pandya<\/a>, who missed the previous match due to viral fever. With India T20 skipper Suryakumar Yadav stepping in as stand-in captain against Delhi, MI had to reshuffle their combination and looked slightly unsettled.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"15\"\/>Pandya has since rejoined training and is expected to return to the XI, though he skipped Monday\u2019s session after practising on Sunday. MI bowling coach Paras Mhambrey sounded optimistic at the pre-match press conference.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"18\"\/>\u201cYes, he will be available for the game. He hit the nets for a couple of hours yesterday. He is fit and fine. He was not injured, just unwell,\u201d Mhambrey said.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"20\"\/>Pandya\u2019s absence forced MI to bring in South African allrounder Corbin Bosch as a like-for-like replacement, while Trent Boult made way. Deepak Chahar delivered a tidy spell, but Bosch failed to make an impact, leaving MI\u2019s bowling combination lacking balance.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"22\"\/> <\/p>\n<div data-pos=\"0\" class=\"id-r-component iIpbx undefined  &#10;        \">\n<div><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"RR vs MI\" msid=\"130074729\" width=\"\" title=\"\" placeholdersrc=\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/photo\/83033472.cms\" imgsize=\"\" resizemode=\"4\" offsetvertical=\"0\" placeholdermsid=\"47529300\" type=\"thumb\" class=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/photo\/msid-130074729\/rr-vs-mi.jpg\" data-api-prerender=\"true\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"25\"\/><span class=\"strong\" data-ua-type=\"1\" onclick=\"stpPgtnAndPrvntDefault(event)\">Bumrah still to pick a wicket<\/span><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"27\"\/><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"28\"\/>Jasprit Bumrah has been economical as ever but is yet to pick up a wicket this season, while Mitchell Santner has done well to hold on to his place. <!-- -->The MI attack, however, faces a stiff challenge against Rajasthan\u2019s inform batting unit.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"32\"\/>Explosive openers Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Yashasvi Jaiswal have provided strong starts, with Dhruv Jurel steady at No. 3. Parag and Shimron Hetmyer are yet to get significant time in the middle. Still, their presence adds depth to the line-up.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"34\"\/>Parag, in particular, will take confidence from his calm leadership against Gujarat, where his smart bowling changes helped Tushar Deshpande defend 11 runs in the final over. With Jofra Archer and Nadre Burger sharing the new ball effectively, the Royals look well-balanced.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"36\"\/>Mumbai, however, possess enough firepower in Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma to turn things around, setting up a contest where momentum meets experience.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"38\"\/><span class=\"strong\" data-ua-type=\"1\" onclick=\"stpPgtnAndPrvntDefault(event)\">NUMBERS GAME<\/span><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"40\"\/><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"41\"\/><\/p>\n<div class=\"cdatainfo   id-r-component \" data-pos=\"42\">\n<ul>\n<li><strong>19<\/strong> &#8211; Jasprit Bumrah, with 19 wickets at 19.36 runs apiece in 15 matches, is the top wickettaker in MI vs RR matches.<\/li>\n<li><strong>173.28<\/strong> -Strike rate of Hardik Pandya while amassing 506 runs at an average of 72.28, including two fifties, in 15 innings (eight not outs) for Mumbai Indians and Gujarat Titans. It\u2019s the highest among batters with 500 runs or more vs Rajasthan Royals.<\/li>\n<li><strong>5<\/strong> &#8211; Five hundreds have been scored by <keyword id=\"26621656\" type=\"General\" weightage=\"20\" keywordseo=\"Rajasthan-Royals-vs-Mumbai-Indians\" source=\"keywords\">Rajasthan Royals vs Mumbai Indians<\/keyword> in the IPL \u2014 two by Yashasvi Jaiswal and one each by Jos Buttler, Yusuf Pathan and Ben Stokes. Jaiswal\u2019s career-best 124 off 62 balls at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai, on April 23, 2023, remains the highest in games involving the two teams.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p>Stats &#8211; Rajesh Kumar<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"44\"\/><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/sports\/cricket\/ipl\/top-stories\/rr-vs-mi-preview-will-hardik-pandya-play-mi-skipper-returns-to-training\/articleshow\/130074621.cms\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Mumbai Indians coach Mahela Jayawardene and captain Hardik Pandya. (Pic credit: IPL) GUWAHATI: It\u2019s still early days in the season but Rajasthan Royals and Mumbai Indians head into Tuesday\u2019s clash at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium on contrasting notes.The Royals have built early momentum with back-to-back wins while the five-time champions are searching for consistency after [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2971,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[263],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-2970","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2970","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2970"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2970\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2971"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2970"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2970"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2970"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}