The second game of the tournament at the iconic Wankhede Stadium, welcomes Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), who came off a defeat in the Royal Derby.
Meanwhile, Mumbai Indians, unfortunately, lost three crunch games and still haven’t been able to register themselves in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2018 points table.
Interestingly, Rohit Sharma-led defending champions Indians are languishing at the bottom.
Therefore, the 14th game of the tournament ensures to be a cracking contest between the two giant forces of the lucrative league.
Here’s a look at the predicted XI of Royal Challengers Bangalore:
Parthiv Patel:
As usual, the batting heavy line-up of Royal Challengers Bangalore needs to strengthen their bowling attack at the batsman’s paradise Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
Therefore, Virat Kohli might have to sacrifice their overseas batter in the form of bleak-looking Brendon McCullum and replace him with the services of Parthiv Patel, who is an equal asset in the powerplays.
Being at the MI squad, Parthiv knows the conditionally in and out. Also, Baz looked vulnerable against spin in the powerplays in the last couple of games.
Quinton de Kock:
Quinton de Kock looked fluent during his knock of 26 off 19 balls, smashing four crisp boundaries.
However, following the trend of the tournament, de Kock lost his wicket to a half-tracker.
RCB looked good in the chase against Rajasthan Royals when De Kock and Kohli were at the crease.
The expression of captain Kohli’s face post-Quinton’s dismissals tells us the entire story.
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Virat Kohli:
Virat Kohli announced himself in the 11th edition of the IPL with a sensational knock of 57 off just 30 balls, to shred off all the rust in his game, coming after a break.
Kohli looked hungry for runs as Royal Challengers Banglore were well within reach of the target while their captain was at the crease.
AB de Villiers:
Ab de Villiers looked to continue from where he left off against Kings XI Punjab but unfortunately gave his wicket away to yet another half-tracker.
The South African ace batsman was part of a game-changing spell from Shreyas Gopal where he turned the match towards Rajasthan by baiting two big fishes in the RCB lineup, i.e., Kohli and AB.
Mandeep Singh:
One of the most frustrating batsman to watch, Mandeep Singh, has always sparked with his brilliance with some of the shots played.
However, the Punjab-based batsman has had an affinity towards giving his wicket away after a start.
This time around, Mandeep looks a complete batsman, eager to finish games for his side.
When the chips were down, Mandeep kept calm in a towering run chase – to ensure that RCB did not lose by a big margin. Thus, somewhat helping their net run-rate.
Mandeep scored a brilliant 25-ball 47, following the priceless 18-ball 37 scored against KKR.
Washington Sundar:
Both Washington Sundar and Mandeep Singh did a commendable job to finish it well for Royal Challengers Bangalore. The two added 56 runs in no time which helped RCB post 198 while chasing a mammoth target of 218.
Sundar, along with Chahal, was responsible to put the brakes on the scoring rate of Royals, apart from scoring a decent knock of 35 which came off just 19 deliveries.
Pawan Negi:
Pawan Negi, who came in place of a rusty Sarfaraz Khan, disappointed with both bat and ball. RCB would want to give him another go, before giving another look at Sarfraz Khan.
The solitary over bowled by Negi cost RCB thirteen runs. Negi came in and scored only three before running himself out. One would hope for a better performance from the all-rounder in the game against MI.
Also Read: IPL 2018: 11th Match, RCB vs RR – Five Game-Changing Moments
Chris Woakes:
Chris Chris Woakes had an expensive outing against RR largely due to the brilliance of Sanju Samson, Rahul Tripathi and Jos Buttler at the fag end of the innings.
Even though he went for almost 12 runs per over (RPO), he still had a couple of wickets to show for his efforts.
Umesh Yadav:
The game of cricket is a great leveller. From changing the game for his side against Kings XI Punjab, where he picked up three prized scalps, Umesh Yadav went on the record books to register one of the most expensive spells in IPL against RR.
Yadav was plundered to all parts of the ground, conceding as many as 60 in his spell without a wicket to show for, continuing the age-old bowling woes of RCB.
Tim Southee:
One Kiwi replaces the other Kiwi from the lineup against RR. With the conditions at Wankhede and his previous stint in Mumbai Indians, Tim Southee is expected to replace Baz for the Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Yuzvendra Chahal:
Yuzvendra Chahal was the pick of the bowlers for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the game against RR.
The wily customer Chahal clinched a couple of wickets and conceded only 22 runs at an economy of 5.5.
Chahal also went on to topple Vinay Kumar’s record for most number of wickets taken for RCB in IPL.