Punjab Kings are back — and what a comeback it was. After six consecutive disappointing defeats, PBKS finally delivered when it mattered the most, cruising past Lucknow Super Giants and chasing down 197 with remarkable ease.
The star of the night was undoubtedly Shreyas Iyer, who produced a magnificent unbeaten century, finishing on 101* and leading Punjab to one of their most important wins of the season. PBKS desperately needed this victory, and now they have pushed themselves back into the top four, sitting in fourth place with 15 points.
And now, we move into the final Super Sunday — or Double Header Sunday, whatever you want to call it — and honestly, these are two absolute mouth-watering clashes to close out the league stage.
The first game sees Mumbai Indians host Rajasthan Royals at the Wankhede Stadium in Match 69. The equation is brutally simple for RR:
- win, and they qualify for the playoffs,
- lose, and they are officially eliminated.
Then comes the final league-stage game of the season between Kolkata Knight Riders and Delhi Capitals. DC, who were officially knocked out after PBKS’ victory, will now look to ruin KKR’s incredible comeback story.
And honestly, what a comeback it has been from KKR. After losing six of their first seven matches — with the remaining game ending in a no result — almost nobody expected them to still have a playoff chance this late into the season.
But the equation for KKR is extremely difficult:
- they must win big,
- and they must hope RR lose,
- because PBKS currently hold a superior Net Run Rate.
It is shaping up to be an incredible final day of league-stage cricket, and potentially one of the best Super Sundays the Tata IPL has produced in years.
Everything is happening at once now — playoff qualification battles, eliminations, comeback stories, and pressure from every direction.
And we’re going to give you everything you need to know ahead of these final two clashes.
Let’s begin the preview for Match 69 between MI and RR at the iconic Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
Expected Playing 11:
MI:
- Ryan Rickelton (WK)
- Rohit Sharma
- Suryakumar Yadav
- Naman Dhir
- Tilak Verma
- Hardik Pandya (C)
- Will Jacks
- Corbin Bosch
- Deepak Chahar
- Jasprit Bumrah
- Mohammed Izhar
Impact Player- AM Ghazanfar
RR:
RR
- Yashasvi Jaiswal
- Vaibhav Sooryavanshi
- Dhruv Jurel (WK)
- Riyan Parag (C)
- Donovan Ferreira
- Dasun Shanaka
- Ravindra Jadeja
- Jofra Archer
- Yash Raj Punja
- Brijesh Sharma
- Nadre Burger
Impact Player- Tushar Deshpande
Head to Head:
| Matches- | 32 |
| MI Won- | 16 |
| RR Won- | 15 |
| No Result- | 1 |
Pitch and Weather Conditions:
Wankhede’s pitch No. 6 is set to be used for the third time this IPL and the fifth time since February, when it hosted two T20 World Cup games. With this being an afternoon game, batting first might not be a bad idea, especially if the pitch is grippy and slows down as the game wears on. There are some showers forecast for Sunday afternoon in Mumbai.
-ESPN CricInfo
Prediction:
It is an all-important clash tonight in Mumbai, as Rajasthan Royals see their playoff hopes hanging by the thinnest possible thread. The equation could not be simpler:
- lose, and they are eliminated,
- win, and they qualify for the playoffs.
Their destiny is entirely in their own hands now, and it is going to be fascinating to see which way this high-pressure clash swings.
RR started the season brilliantly before falling into a period of frustrating inconsistency, losing six of their next eight matches. And honestly, inconsistency has become a recurring theme for Rajasthan over the last few seasons. Something very similar happened back in 2023, when they won seven of their first eight games before collapsing and winning just one of their next six.
But right now, Rajasthan seem to have rediscovered some momentum after an impressive win against Lucknow Super Giants.
And given how out of form Mumbai Indians’ bowling attack has looked this season — including even one of the greatest fast bowlers in the world, Jasprit Bumrah — it may be difficult for Mumbai to suddenly produce magic in a pressure situation like this.
That could heavily favour RR’s explosive batting lineup, especially on a batting-friendly Wankhede surface where stroke-makers usually thrive.
Rajasthan have also already beaten MI once this season in Guwahati, in a rain-affected 11-over contest where they posted around 150 and defended it comfortably. But more than the result itself, the moment everyone remembers from that game was young Vaibhav Suryavanshi smashing Jasprit Bumrah for a six off the very first ball he ever faced against him. That was genuinely a special IPL moment.
And with all that in mind, we are backing Rajasthan Royals to win tonight and officially become the fourth and final team to qualify for the playoffs.
If you want to see Vaibhav Sooryavanshi take on Jasprit Bumrah, this time in Wankhede, then tune into JioHotstar at 3:30 PM IST.
Until next time!
Thank you.
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