Day 10 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) will feature an interesting match to get rid of your Monday blues.
The second week of the tournament will feature a clash of two unpredictable sides as Mumbai Indians take on Royal Challengers Bangalore.
MI is coming off a perfect and clinical performance in their last match against the mighty KKR. RCB, on the other hand, had a polar opposite understanding as the KXIP decimated them in their previous game.
Mumbai Indians
The defending champions registered their first win to start the campaign. The best thing being they rectified all the silly mistakes they made in their first match against CSK. Skipper Rohit Sharma scored a brilliant 80 runs off just 54 balls and took on bowlers like Pat Cummins. Other batsmen like Suryakumar Yadav, Saurabh Tiwari, and Hardik Pandya made contributions as well.
The pace bowling department was phenomenal as well. The best thing for MI was probably the fact that Jasprit Bumrah found rhythm and form. He took 2 important wickets of Andre Russell and Eoin Morgan. Trent Boult, James Pattinson, and Rahul Chahar took 2 wickets each as well.
However, it has been observed that MI’s spin bowling seems to be struggling a bit with higher economy rates.
Royal Challengers Bangalore
RCB is coming off an embarrassing 97 run loss against KXIP. They were outclassed in all three departments.
Bowling first, it was a similar story with other bowlers leaking runs and Navdeep Saini trying his best to restrict the flow. Yuzvendra Chahal was, as usual phenomenal. Depth bowling again was a failure as KL Rahul smashed an impressive 132 runs off just 69 balls.
The batting as well was no different. AB de Villiers played a decent cameo; however, no batsmen tried to establish a partnership. They were restricted to only 109 runs.
RCB may consider making some changes. They can have their expensive buy Chris Morris in place of Steyn. They can also try Mohammed Siraj in place of Umesh Yadav.
Fantasy XI Team
ROHIT SHARMA (10.5) (C) – Hitman looked in great form in his last match. He has also taken the initiative by attacking bowlers and not just playing the anchor role. He’ll, therefore, be my captain.
AB DE VILLIERS (10) (VC) – Despite being relatively inactive, de Villiers has looked good in his two matches. He has also been playing brisk innings. He’ll be our vice-captain.
VIRAT KOHLI (10.5) – Kohli has been rusty due to the current pandemic situation. However, he has the ability to change the course of the game at any time.
QUINTON DE KOCK (9.5) – De Kock showed some real good stroke play in their first match against CSK. He’s an impactful player as well.
SAURABH TIWARY (8) – Tiwary has justified his selection over young and talented Ishan Kishan. He has been gritty in his approach and understands his role according to the situation.
JASPRIT BUMRAH (9) – Bumrah has been slowly finding form. He’s probably one of the most valuable bowlers in the world.
RAHUL CHAHAR (8) – Chahar bowled good in the last match. He’ll be more important as the tournament progresses.
HARDIK PANDYA (9.5) – Pandya is hitting big shots right from the get-go. He has attacked bowlers like Jadeja and Pat Cummins, thus relieving pressure on the MI side.
JAMES PATTINSON (8) – Pattinson has been surprisingly good for MI. He has been economical and picked up wickets as well. He can also bowl in the powerplay and death overs.
JOSH PHILLIPE (8) – Phillipe is entering the IPL with a lot of hype. It will be interesting to him in the RCB middle-order.
YUZVENDRA CHAHAL (9) – Chahal has developed into a phenomenal and intelligent limited over spinner. He picked up three valuable wickets in their first match.
Prediction
MI is looking more balanced at the moment. RCB batsmen have always delivered against MI; however, that was in Chinnaswamy stadium under shorter boundaries. That might not be the case here in UAE.
Mumbai Indians will, therefore, defeat Royal Challengers Bangalore.
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