Rajasthan Royals face Mumbai Indians in battle of blues

AHMEDABAD: Come Monday and the Motera Stadium will bleed blue as 'hosts' Rajasthan Royals take on a star-studded Mumbai Indians in an enticing encounter.
A look at the records shows that the Motera has treated the team from Jaipur well with the Royals playing seven matches here since 2010, winning five of them while losing only two.
On the other hand, Mumbai Indians never got a chance to play any IPL match in Ahmedabad before.
The only time MI came close to having a T20 game here was back in September 2013, when they were supposed to take on Otago in their Champions League encounter but the tie was abandoned due to rain. Going into the match, the equation is very simple for both the teams.
After seven wins from 11 matches and sitting pretty at third position with 14 points, Royals know that a victory on Monday will ensure their place in the playoffs.
However, it is a desperate situation for MI, who have won just three of their 10 ties so far and are languishing at second from bottom in the points table and a loss here means their defence of the IPL title is over.
Going by the MI's practice session on Saturday and Sunday, the players look relaxed and trying to enjoy the game. Right from the old guard Mike Hussey, skipper Rohit Sharma, Kieron Pollard and Aditya Tare to bowlers Harbhajan Singh and Praveen Kumar, all had long batting sessions where they kept hitting the ball into empty stands and sending the policemen on a leather hunt.
Even the just-retired Sachin Tendulkar had fun in the nets by bowling his arm over for the slower ones which were hit out by his mate Bhajji.
Mumbai Indians' task will be tougher as they will be playing their first match without star bowler Lasith Malinga. It remains to be seen if they can pick up the pieces and put up a fight against the Royals.
Despite being in a tough situation, MI have not thrown in the towel yet, says their all-rounder Corey Anderson. "We know we need to win everything from here and if few things fall in place, a playoff berth is still a possibility," the Kiwi said in the press conference.
Talking about the departure of their key bowler Malinga, he said it is a huge space to fill. "We know our plans and hope whoever steps in for him does a good job," Anderson said.