The IPL 2020 has been deferred until April 15 following the global concern over the coronavirus outbreak. And with the COVID-19 pandemic showing no signs of receding, the fans may have to wait longer for the T20 action to resume.
However, had the situation been under control, Rajasthan Royals, led by Steve Smith, would have been gearing up to take on Rohit Sharma’s Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Wednesday.
Though Mumbai won the IPL in 2019, it failed to beat the Royals in the league stages, losing both the home and away fixtures.
In the inaugural edition in 2008, both the teams won a game each convincingly but in 2009, Royals clinched a thriller beating Mumbai by two runs in Durban. Shane Warne had starred with three wickets, including that of the legendary Sachin Tendulkar.
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A year later, riding on Saurabh Tiwary and Ambati Rayudu’s half-centuries, Mumbai posted 212 on board in its own backyard. Royals lost the match by four runs but Yusuf Pathan stole all thunder smashing a 37-ball 100; unfortunate that his side lost by just four runs.
In 2011, Royals won both its league matches against Mumbai and the opposite happened a year later.
In 2013, Royals started on a high. It beat Mumbai by 87 runs. Ajinkya Rahane scored an unbeaten 68 as Royals set a target of 180 for the star-studded Mumbai lineup with Tendulkar and captain Ricky Ponting as openers. But Mumbai folded for 92 with Dinesh Karthik (30 off 32) finishing top-scorer. James Faulkner picked up three wickets and Ajit Chandila, who was later banned for spot-fixing in the same season, bagged a couple. However, Mumbai retaliated by winning the next two games, the second one being the playoffs fixture.
Royals did not feature in the IPL for two years, 2016 and 2017, but it still holds a solid record against four-time champions Mumbai. The head-to-head count is 10:10.
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