After registering a remarkable win against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), Mumbai Indians (MI) are ready to face Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on Monday (September 28). They will clash at Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Dubai.
Mumbai Indians lost their opener match against Chennai Super Kings but made a strong comeback against Kolkata Knight Riders. The skipper Rohit Sharma played a fantastic knock of 84 runs to guide his team to victory against the two-time IPL winner.
For the clash against RCB, who lost their last match, the defending champion will enter with the strong bowling line up seeing the opposition batting line up.
Let’s take a look at Mumbai Indians’ predicted XI against RCB:
1. Quinton de Kock:
The wicketkeeper-opening batsman Quinton de Kock’s is yet to show his prowess for Mumbai Indians. In the two previous matches, he has lost his wicket early which has added pressure on the middle-order. The proteas will like to score big in the match against the Challengers to mark his comeback.
2. Rohit Sharma:
Rohit Sharma, Mumbai Indians captain, will be riding on confidence after leading the team to victory in the last match against KKR. Against the likes of Pat Cummins, Kuldeep Yadav and Andre Russell, he played a marvellous knock which he could play in the defeated match against CSK. The right-hand batsman will be lethal against RCB.
3. Suryakumar Yadav:
Suryakumar Yadav has very well handled the pressure at no.3. Against KKR, he was unlucky as he was run out before completing his half-century. Although he set up a much-needed partnership with Rohit Sharma, he scored 47 off 28 balls, striking consecutive fours in four balls of Sandeep Warrier.
4. Saurabh Tiwary:
Saurabh Tiwary, who was bought by Mumbai Indians in the IPL 2020 auction, has proven that it was right to pick him up for no. 4 in the playing XI. Against KKR, he played a quick-firing knock of 21 runs off 13 balls at the strike rate of 161.54.
Although Ishan Kisha is waiting on the bench, the franchise would go with Saurabh Tiwary in the playing XI seeing his effective performance in the last two matches.
5. Kieron Pollard:
Kieron Pollard has not got enough time to bat in the last matches but he had shown what he can do when given more overs. He has scored 18 and 13* runs against CSK and KKR respectively. He also picked the wicket of the left-hand batsman Nitish Rana to break the partnership of him and Dinesh Karthik which might have taken away the game from MI. So, he is an asset to the team because of his all-round performance
6.Hardik Pandya:
Hardik Pandya has stayed short in the field but has helped MI in accelerating their inning with his power-hitting. He has amassed 14 and 18 in the last two matches respectively although Rohit Sharma is not using him as his bowling option.
However, the fast bowler will be at some point seen picking wickets as the tournament goes on.
7. Krunal Pandya:
Krunal Pandya had not got the right start of the tournament neither with his bat nor ball. He has proved to be expensive with the ball while struggled to score runs with the bat. However, seeing his past contributions for Mumbai Indians, the spin-bowling allrounder will retain his place in the team.
8. Rahul Chahar:
The youngster Rahul Chahar is the only in and out spinner in the Mumbai Indians team. But it has not added pressure on him. He has picked the prize wicket of KKR captain Dinesh Karthik and CSK batting mainstay Ambati Rayudu to give a breakthrough to MI. The franchise would back him in the third game as well.
9. James Pattinson:
James Pattinson, the end moment replacement of Lasith Malinga, has ticked all the boxes right in the last two games. He has picked the wickets at the regular intervals while tightening things up a bit. Against KKR, Pattinson bagged the crucial wickets of Sunil Narine and Pat Cummins. He has justified that it was right to pick him up as the replacement of the veteran.
10. Trent Boult:
Trent Boult has given the expected start to Mumbai Indians in the last two matches. With the new ball, he has trouble batsmen, picking three wickets in those matches. However, Boult could be more lethal so he would be expected to pick more wickets in the coming matches.
11. Jasprit Bumrah:
Mumbai Indians’ bowling mainstay Jasprit Bumrah struggled in his first match against CSK. He conceded 43 in four overs for the only wicket. Moreover, he was not bowling yorkers which had put up several questions on his bowling. But the pacer silent all the critics with his performance against KKR. He bounced back and picked two wickets. The 26-year old would be aiming towards more consistency moving forwards.