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Mumbai Indians wicketkeeper Ryan Rickelton said that he was more than happy to play spoilsport to the Rajasthan Royals when the two teams take each other on in their IPL 2026 encounter on Sunday.
MI have been eliminated from the tournament, while RR need to win this match if they want to qualify. Losing this match would eliminate the inaugural champions from the tournament.
Rickelton spoke to the broadcasters right before the start of the afternoon game at the Wankhede Stadium.
"The pitch suits my game" - Ryan Rickelton
Rickelton said that he liked batting at the Wankhede Stadium. He compared the ground to his home ground at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa.
"It's just a great place to play (Wankhede). I think the wicket favors my game. Quite a lot of pace in the wicket and a lot of bounce as well, similar to the conditions back at the Wanderers in South Africa, where I'm from. Yeah, lightning outfield, the ball seems to fly even though it's a coastal venue. And yeah, it's just a pitch that I've obviously trained on now for the last couple of years and got quite familiar with the conditions," Rickelton said.
"He doesn't get flustered by high-pressure situations" - Rickelton on Rohit Sharma
Rickelton was asked about his opening partnership with Rohit Sharma and how the two of them have been keeping each other going.
"I think just the composure that he brings to any situation. You know, he's obviously been around for a while; he's seen it all. He doesn't really get flustered by high-pressure situations, low-pressure situations either. So it just reminds me, you know, we work hard, we dovetail quite nicely together."
"So it just kind of keeps me calm, makes sure that I'm picking the right option at the right time. And if we both do that as a collective, we know that we'll get a good powerplay score and then hopefully one of us doesn't get too tired, and we can kick on for the second half," Rickelton added.
"We've had some good contests" - Ryan Rickelton
Rickelton also talked about his contest with Jofra Archer and how he planned to counter the Englishman's pace. Rickelton talked about how Archer would enjoy bowling at the Wankhede Stadium.
"Probably try to use it in all honesty. He's been really good for them up front this year. Yeah, we've had some good contests in the past, but this will be a wicket that he likes bowling on. There's lots of pace and lots of bounce in it. So if I can try to use the extra pace that he has, especially at this venue, hopefully we can get on top of him this afternoon," Ryan Rickelton said.
"I don't want them to go through" - Ryan Rickelton
Ryan Rickelton also talked about the opportunity to play spoilsport in RR's season. As mentioned earlier, RR will be eliminated from the tournament if they lose to MI on Sunday.
" 100%, yeah. I don't want them to go through. I like to stir the pot up a little bit. And it's obviously unfortunate the season we've had, but we've been in situations before where teams have stirred the pot up for us. So if we can throw the cat among the pigeons and keep three teams alive in the tournament, or, you know, make it come down to the wire tonight, then that's what we're going to do," Ryan Rickelton added.
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