Mumbai Indians (MI) will take on hapless Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in match 38 of IPL 2017 at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. MI would not want to take RCB lightly yet who still stand an outside chance to make it to the playoffs. MI are placed second from the top while RCB are second from the bottom of the points table. RCB in the initial six games won two but lost the rest. The biggest shock for RCB came when they were humbled by Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) for 49 leading to 82-run defeat. Their latest 61-run loss against Rising Pune Supergiant (RPS) has further shattered their hopes with Virat Kohli playing the lone battle.
MI, on the other hand, have been commendable. They suffered a jolt initially against RPS but won 6 matches on trot. However, MI’s winning streak was halted by RPS once again, this time away. But MI found their lost mojo and provided one of the finest matches of IPL when they edged past Gujarat Lions (GL) in an exciting Super-Over finish. With the game at Wankhede, hosts have lost just one game here this tournament and should have an easy go against RCB.
Team Combinations:
MI have shrugged off their previous weaknesses of tweaking with their playing XI, especially at the business end of the tournament. There are chances of MI making a change knowing the batting line-up RCB possess. MI have used just 15 players from their 27-member squad so far.
They got their opening combinations right with hard-hitters like Parthiv Patel and Jos Buttler providing flying start for their sides on numerous occasions. Nitish Rana has been the rising star for MI and is giving tough competition to players like Gautam Gambhir and David Warner amongst the leading run-scorers. The middle-order have provided match-winning knocks with either the Pandya brothers or Kieron Pollard finishing the task. Their only concern, however, has been the on and off performance of skipper Rohit Sharma.
MI’s bowling have complimented the batsmen well. Harbhajan Singh and Krunal have taken complete control of the spin department. Although Lasith Malinga and Mitchell McClenaghan had torrid time against Kings XI Punjab (KXIP), they bounced back to prove why they remain an integral part amongst the pacers. However, following McClenaghan’s wicketless match against GL, MI might want to bring back Tim Southee into action. But MI’s spearhead Jasprit Bumrah takes the cake away when it comes to bowling variations in pressure situations.
Mumbai Indians Likely XI: Parthiv Patel (wk), Jos Buttler, Nitish Rana, Rohit Sharma (c), Kieron Pollard, Krunal Pandya, Hardik Pandya, Harbhajan Singh, Mitchell McClenaghan / Tim Southee, Jasprit Bumrah and Lasith Malinga.
sssRCB have task on hand in terms of their playing XI. Some of the best T20 specialists’ batsmen on the paper like AB de Villiers, Kedar Jadhav, Travis Head as well as Kohli have failed to turn the fortunes for RCB. Kohli played a lone battle against RPS while the rest perished for single digits. RCB would go for a few changes if they wish to win the remaining games and stand chance to make it to the playoffs.
RCB’s top-order might be in for some change bringing Chris Gayle back in place of Travis Head. Gayle’s powerful strokes and the Wankhede conditions favouring batsmen justify his inclusion further. Kohli alongside Gayle could be the opening combination MI have to be wary about. De Villiers missed the initial games due to injury and would want to cover up with a fine knock.
Inclusion of Mandeep Singh also is a high probability in place of Sachin Baby who was out of sorts in the previous match. To bolster the batting further, Shane Watson could get a game. His bowling will also prove crucial to the RCB side. Kedar Jadhav has been impressive in patches while Pawan Negi has bowled very well and is expected to make the cut in the XI.
Stuart Binny, Samuel Badree, Yuzvendra Chahal and Sreenath Aravind are the other players who are expected to make it to XI.
Royal Challengers Bangalore Likely XI: Chris Gayle, Virat Kohli (c), AB de Villiers, Mandeep Singh, Shane Watson, Kedar Jadhav (wk), Pawan Negi, Stuart Binny, Samuel Badree, Sreenath Aravind and Yuazvendra Chahal
Head-to-head record: Although MI lead way ahead of RCB in terms of overall record with ratio of 12:8, both teams are sailing in the same boat at Wankhede. With ratio of 4:4, it will be exciting to see who leads at hosts’ home ground.
Predictions: The game might look easy as MI are table leaders. However, RCB despite being down in the dumps will be in mood to spoil other’s party. The previous encounter saw Badree running through MI’s top-order securing his first IPL hat-trick and Pollard healing the wound with his match-winning knock of 47-ball 77. A win here will take MI closer to yet another playoffs that they missed last year while a victory for RCB will rejuvenate their IPL campaign.
Squads:
Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma (c), Parthiv Patel (wk), Harbhajan Singh, Lasith Malinga, Kieron Pollard, Jos Buttler, Mitchell McClenaghan, Nitish Rana, Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya,Mitchell Johnson, Lendl Simmons, Tim Southee, Vinay Kumar, Saurabh Tiwary, Karn Sharma, Ambati Rayudu, Krishnappa Gowtham, Siddhesh Lad, Nicholas Pooran, Shreyas Gopal, Asela Gunaratne, Jitesh Sharma, Deepak Punia, Jagadeesha Suchith, Kulwant Khejroliya
Royal Challengers Bangalore: Virat Kohli (c), AB de Villiers, Chris Gayle, Yuzvendra Chahal, Harshal Patel, Mandeep Singh, Adam Milne, Sreenath Aravind, Kedar Jadhav (wk), Shane Watson, Stuart Binny, Samuel Badree, Iqbal Abdulla, Travis Head, Sachin Baby, Avesh Khan, Tabraiz Shamsi, Pawan Negi, Tymal Mills, Aniket Choudhary, Praveen Dubey, Billy Stanlake.
Time: 14.30 GMT | 20.00 IST
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