Royal Riders Punjab vs Mumbai Spartans
💜 Royal Riders Punjab
🔴 Mumbai Spartans
RRP top scorer
RRP wkts
vs MSP (16 balls!)
13.3 ov chase win
💜 Royal Riders Punjab
Captain: Cheteshwar Pujara
M.S. Shahzad (wk, 143 runs — league’s top scorer!), Danushka Gunathilaka, Samiullah Shinwari, Asghar Afghan, Thisara Perera (45*(16) match-winner vs MSP), Chaturanga De Silva, Rishi Dhawan, Angelo Perera (6 wkts — RRP’s leading bowler), Anureet Singh, Aftab Alam, Seekkuge Prasanna, Mark Deyal, Trevon Griffith, Cheteshwar Pujara
🔴 Mumbai Spartans
Captain: Suresh Raina
Suresh Raina (c), Carlos Brathwaite (all-round power), Bharath Chipli (6 sixes vs IT!), Chadwick Walton (wk), Faiz Fazal, Isuru Udana, KC Cariappa, S. Sreesanth, Bipul Sharma, Mausif Khan, Shoaib Khan, Asad Pathan, Amit Verma, Manan Sharma
This is a fascinating semi-final between two sides who have now faced each other twice in the league stage. RRP won the most recent match when Thisara Perera smashed 45 off just 16 balls — one of the most brutal cameos of LLC 2026 — to win by 4 wickets. But MSP also won their earlier T20 encounter (chasing 163 in just 13.3 overs!).
Royal Riders Punjab’s strengths: Mohammad Shahzad (143 runs — league’s top scorer) gives them an explosive WK-bat at the top. Angelo Perera (6 wickets) is their leading bowler. Asghar Afghan’s all-round quality and Thisara Perera’s finishing ability make them one of the most complete sides in the competition. Cheteshwar Pujara as captain of a T20 side remains a fascinating subplot.
Mumbai Spartans’ strengths: Suresh Raina as captain brings T20 experience unmatched in the competition — he knows how to win knockout cricket. Carlos Brathwaite’s ability to change matches with his bat (and occasionally with his seam) is well-documented. Bharath Chipli’s 6 sixes against India Tigers was one of the defining individual T20 performances of the tournament. They qualified for the semis from third place — nothing to lose.
⭐ Suggested XI
- Mohammad ShahzadWKCRRP
- Danushka GunathilakaRRP
- Suresh RainaVCMSP
- Bharath ChipliMSP
- Asghar AfghanRRP
- Thisara PereraRRP
- Carlos BrathwaiteMSP
- Chaturanga De SilvaRRP
- Angelo PereraRRP
- Isuru UdanaMSP
- Anureet SinghRRP
📋 Breakdown
- Wicket-keeper1 — Shahzad
- Batters2
- All-rounders5
- Bowlers3
- Royal Riders Punjab7 players
- Mumbai Spartans4 players
Why Shahzad as captain? 143 runs — the LEAGUE’s top scorer by a margin. He has been in superlative form all tournament. He also contributes 4+ catches from behind the stumps. In a T20 semi-final, the batter in the best form in the competition is your safest captain choice.
Why Thisara Perera as differential? He won the league-stage meeting between these two sides with 45*(16) — one of the match-defining moments of LLC 2026. Most fantasy users will weight Raina or Brathwaite from MSP as differentials. Thisara at a likely modest price with his track record vs this specific opponent is the smart pick.
📺 Broadcast: Sony Sports 1 & 3 | FanCode & SonyLIV | Willow TV (USA) | Fox Cricket & Kayo (Australia)
Also Read- India Tigers vs Konark Suryas Odisha LLC 1st Semi Final 2026