Mumbai, May 23 (IANS) Before the start of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026, neither the Mumbai Indians nor the Rajasthan Royals would have imagined that their last match of the preliminary round at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday would turn out to be so crucial not only for them but for the entire league.

Both teams have everything to play for — RR for the playoff spot, MI for their pride, and to avoid finishing at the bottom of the pile.

The outcome of the match will decide the fourth spot in the playoffs — if Rajasthan Royals, who are on 14 points, win the match, they will move to 16 and beyond the reach of Punjab Kings, who are on 13 and at maximum move to 15 points at most by winning their last league match against Lucknow Super Giants.

Winning the match will also help five-time champions Mumbai Indians avoid the wooden spoon as they are currently tied with Lucknow Super Giants on eight points and have a better Net Run Rate.

So, the last day of league action in the IPL 2026 will start with a make-or-break afternoon for Rajasthan Royals, who will be getting into it with their fortunes in their hands, with the two teams engaging in the final day game of the season.

The winner of the inaugural edition of IPL has had an up-and-down season so far and are coming into Sunday’s encounter after ending a three-match losing streak with a win over bottom-placed LSG. They had started their campaign with four wins, but then lost their way, posting indifferent results due to inconsistent performances.

Rajasthan’s campaign has been powered by explosive starts at the top provided by the explosive Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Yashasvi Jaiswal, who have been in sensational form, piling up exactly 589 runs in just 293 balls at a strike rate exceeding 200. Sooryavanshi has already scored a century and blasted a 38-ball 93 in their previous match against LSG. Dhruv Jurel struck an unbeaten 53 in that match while Jaiswal led them in the absence of regular skipper Ryan Parag.

Rajasthan Royals’ fearless approach with the bat has consistently set the tone for their campaign, while Jofra Archer has spearheaded the bowling attack with 18 wickets, striking when it matters most. Sandeep Sharma and Dasun Shanaka will be crucial on Sunday as they will be with Yash Raj Punja coming into the game after claiming 2-38 against LSG.

In contrast, the Mumbai Indians, meanwhile, have endured a season to forget. They made history by winning their season opener for the first time in 14 years, but things went downhill soon after as they lost matches in clusters. Their batting has lacked rhythm and consistency, though they have registered the most centuries by a team this season with three individual hundreds.

The biggest contributing factor to their dismal campaign was the poor form of talismanic pacer Jasprit Bumrah, who had gone wicketless in his first five matches of the season. Though they have found performers like Ashwani Kumar, Raj Angad Bawa, and Raghu Sharma, they have failed to produce consistently good performances, making this campaign a tough one to digest.

But MI now have one final chance to salvage some pride and end their season on a winning note while avoiding finishing at the bottom of the table. They will have to keep the rampaging Rajasthan Royals batters in check and then produce one more noteworthy performance with the bat, something that will help them leave the Wankhede on Sunday night with hope for the next season.

With Wankhede set to host the final day game of the league stage and emotions running high, everything is in play, pride for one, qualification for the other. Will Rajasthan seize the moment, or will Mumbai script one last twist and play the perfect spoiler?

Squads:

Mumbai Indians: Hardik Pandya (c), Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Robin Minz, Ryan Rickelton (wk), Shrijith Krishnan (wk), Bevon Jacobs, Tilak Varma, Naman Dhir, Will Jacks, Keshav Maharaj, Raj Angad Bawa, Vignesh Puthur, Corbin Bosch, Trent Boult, Karn Sharma, Deepak Chahar, Ashwani Kumar, Reece Topley, VS Penmetsa, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Jasprit Bumrah

Rajasthan Royals: Riyan Parag (c), Dhruv Jurel (wk), Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ravindra Jadeja, Donovan Ferreira, Brijesh Sharma, Jofra Archer, Shimron Hetmyer, Shubham Dubey, Dasun Shanaka, Nandre Burger, Ravi Bishnoi, Sandeep Sharma, Lhuan-Dre Pretorius, Ravi Singh, Aman Rao Perala, Adam Milne, Kuldeep Sen, and Kwena Maphaka.

–IANS

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