The second of IPL’s double-header on Sunday promises to be a blockbuster at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai. Two Mumbai-born men in Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane will be leading their respective sides as Mumbai Indians take on Rajasthan Royals in what could be a campaign defining clash for both the teams.

With the race for the playoff spots getting more complex, the stakes will be as high as ever at the Wankhede for both sides who are experiencing a late resurgence.

Both sides have 10 points after 11 games each though Mumbai do enjoy the luxury of having a better net run-rate than Rajasthan. While a win for either side would put them in a strong position to make the playoffs, a loss could very well derail the campaign.

SHADES OF 2015 IN MUMBAI’S CAMPAIGN

In 2015, Mumbai Indians started their campaign with four straight losses before turning it around brilliantly to capture the title. They had their backs to the wall for much of the campaign but kept out churning win after win in the latter stages to complete a fairytale charge to the trophy.

They are experiencing something similar this year after having started with four losses in their first five games. Can they repeat their 2015 heroics? On current form, it is hard to argue otherwise.

ROYALS’ AWAY WOES

Though they have done relatively well at home in ‘Fortress Jaipur’ with three wins out of six, Rahane’s men have been abysmal on the road. They started their away campaign with a fine victory over Royal Challengers Bangalore at the Chinnaswamy Stadium but since then it has gone horribly wrong.

The side has slumped to four straight defeats away from home to Chennai Super Kings, Delhi Daredevils, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kings XI Punjab. Of the five times the Royals have played away to Mumbai, they have ended up on the losing side on four occasions. They will need to change that trend if they are to keep their playoff hopes alive.

LIKELY LINE-UPS

Mumbai Indians: Evin Lewis, Suryakumar Yadav, Rohit Sharma (c), Ishan Kishan (wk), JP Duminy, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Ben Cutting, Mitchell McClenaghan, Mayank Markande, Jasprit Bumrah.

Rajasthan Royals: Jos Buttler (wk), Ajinkya Rahane (c), Sanju Samson, Ben Stokes, Stuart Binny, Prashant Chopra, K Gowtham, Shreyas Gopal, Jofra Archer, Jaydev Unadkat, Ish Sodhi