The much-awaited match of this week’s IPL is just a few hours away now. It’s the battle between two star-studded line-ups, it’s RCB v/s MI guys and it’s going to be played on the sixer friendly Chinnaswamy stadium. What makes it even more captivating is the return of the star batsman and charismatic captain Virat Kohli. Virat Kohli has been nursing his shoulder injury for 4 weeks now and the run-machine is finally back on the cricket field to change the fortunes of a struggling RCB unit. Virat Kohli is a much-needed pill for the RCB side to boost their performance on the field. It’s a big match for the captains of both the sides as both Virat Kohli & Rohit Sharma would be itching to get a big score on their most-loved Bengaluru pitch. Virat Kohli has had immense success in this venue last season and who could forget Rohit’s 200 v/s the Aussies in this very own venue. Hence it is a huge match for both these star players to play a match-winning knock for their sides as both sides would rely heavily on the success of their captains.
MI start favorites as they have a good record in Bengaluru and they are coming on the back of 2 consecutive wins. But RCB will be tough to beat with Virat’s inclusion and ABD’s blistering form.
Head to Head Record
Overall: Matches – 19,
Mumbai Indians Won – 11,
Royal Challengers Bangalore – 8
In Bengaluru: Matches – 7, MI Won – 6, RCB Won – 1
RCB journey so far-
Played – 3
Won- 1
Lost -2
RCB has not had the greatest of starts to this season which is not surprising indeed. They are renowned for bouncing back in the later stages of the league as we have seen last year as well. But it is imperative for the RCB unit to find the right balance in both the batting and bowling departments in the early games so that they can really strike big later.
Batting – A huge positive has been the return of ABD and his magical form too. His innings in the last game against Punjab definitely sent warnings signs to every team out there. Now with Kohli back into the side, we can expect these two to register some memorable partnerships together. Coming to the other batsman, except Kedhar Jadhav there was hardly anyone who showed their mettle. The stand-in captain failed with the bat on all occasions and the other batsman also failed to support ABD and Kedar. The better these batsman play the lesser would be the pressure on ABD-Kohli and the better they can perform. RCB batting lineup is so very star-studded that you expect a 200 plus score every time they walk out to bat. Hope this line-up settles down quickly and gives us more reasons to love their batting.
Bowling– The inclusion of Tymal Mills has done a world of good to this ever struggling RCB bowling unit. Tymal mills has been the go-to bowler for their side in the powerplays and also at the death. He has been very well supported by Chahal who is improving with every match that he is playing. You keep these two aside and there is hardly any bowler left to restrict the opposition. This has been the main reason for their defeat against Punjab. It is hard for this side to defend low scores as they do not have that depth in their bowling. They rely heavily on their 2 go to bowlers and their batsman to give them enough runs on the board. It’s high time for the experienced Watson and other young Indian bowlers to step up and deliver the goods in the big matches coming up.
Predicted XI: Chris Gayle, Virat Kohli (C), Shane Watson, AB De Villiers, Kedar Jadhav, Stuart Binny, Pawan Negi, Iqbal Abdullah, Tymal Mills, Yuzvendra Chahal, Aniket Choudary
MI journey so far –
Played – 3
Won- 2
Lost -1
MI is improving with every game that they are playing. Thier batting and bowling seem to be well balanced and they are striking at a time when it most matters. They have lost the first match against RPS in the final over but after that, they bounced back brilliantly to defeat KKR and SRH in their fortress at Wankhade.
Batting – The opening duo of Parthiv-Butler has been working well for them as they are striking some solid blows in the powerplays. A special mention must be made of the Pandya brothers who are rising to the occasion whenever the team has been put in the corner with their all-round heroics. But the standout performer for MI must the young Nitish Rana. He has stood like a rock in the middle order and helped Mumbai chase down targets in their last two outings. He has amassed 129 runs at an average of 43.00 and he is the only Mi player in the top 10 run getters this season so far. The only concern for MI would be the lack of form of their most valuable player and captain Rohit Sharma. He could not even aggregate a score of 10 runs in the 3 matches. He has been troubled by the wrong-uns of Tahir, Narine and Rashid khan respectively. So one could expect RCB to use Chahal when Rohit is out to bat. But Rohit has a very good record at Chinnaswamy and he should fancy himself to hit the straps today.
Bowling- MI slow bowling and death bowling has been spot on. Bumrah and Malinga have struck gold for them in the final overs. Bumrah is probably the best death bowler in the world right now and he is proving that right with every match he plays. Harbhajan, Krunal, Hardik and pollard have handled the middle overs really well and this MI attack seems to be one of the best bowling line-ups out there. Probably the only area of concern for them would be the performance of their new ball bowler McClenaghan. Mitch Johnson and Tim Southee would be rearing to have a bowl out there and it is high time that MI try out their experienced fast bowlers.
Predicted XI: Jos Butler, Parthiv Patel (W), Rohit Sharma (C), Nitish Rana, Kieron Pollard, Krunal Pandya, Hardik Pandya, Harbhajan Singh, Mitchell Johnson, Lasith Malinga, Jasprit Bumrah.
AllIndiaRoundup Predicts:
Well, every cricket loving Indian is a cricket expert and every expert has his own predictions for IPL. Right from cricket pundits sitting in com boxes to the waiters at a local Mumbai cafe, everyone is an expert in India. We @AIR thought why not try out our luck by predicting these matches. Of course, we would appreciate your support in making these calls. You can vote and tell us who is that you think will win today’s match.
AllIndiaRoundup Predictions for RCB vs MI-
Toss plays a very important role in Bengaluru as it is a very good chasing ground. Both teams would be itching to chase.
Score prediction-
First batting:
MI – 180-190
RCB – 195-205
OUR WINNER – Royal challengers Bangalore
WHY?
- Home ground advantage
- Virat Kohli is back
- Virat- ABD duo to watch out for
- Gayle-ABD-Virat experience in successful run chases
- Rohit out-of-form
- Inexperienced MI batting lineup in big chases except for Rohit and Pollard
It is hard to forget the Pandyas and Nitish Rana, but can you bank on them to chase down a 200 against the crowd favorite RCB in their backyard? Well, we think its RCB’s game.