Rajasthan Royals are keen to extend their winning run in the Indian Premier League when they take on Mumbai Indians today and ensure they enter the upcoming play-offs in a positive frame of mind.

Fast bowler Kane Richardson insists Rajasthan will not be experimenting with the line-up against Mumbai despite having garnered 14 points and assured of a play-off spot with seven wins from 10 games. 

Mumbai, on the other hand, are languishing in seventh place with just six points and three wins from 10 games. They are therefore virtually out of contention. 

Mumbai can only make the play-off place if three other contenders – Kolkata Knight Riders (12 points), Royal Challengers Bangalore (10 points each) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (eight points) – lose their remaining games and Mumbai win the rest of their four matches. 

That’s expecting too much because the battle is between four teams for just one play-off spot as the top three slots are taken by Kings XI Punjab, Chennai Super Kings (16 points each) and Rajasthan (14).

Richardson said: “No experiments, we are after a win. The way the points table is looking, the Kolkata Knight Riders are a threat as well. 

“So for us, it is about getting that win to get us through to the play-offs. And it will be nice to do it this game.

“If you do that kind of stuff (experiment to test their bench strength), you set yourself up for bad luck. You have to make sure you win. If your team has qualified for the finals, you can think about stuff like that. 

“Everyone who plays, there is a reason why they are playing. Whichever 11 are there tomorrow, there is a reason why they have been picked.”