IPL 2019: Brad Hodge suggests Shimron Hetmyer to bat at No.3 against Mumbai Indians

They both have lost their maiden clashes in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2019. While Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) lost their game against defending champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in a one-sided game after getting bowled out for only 70, the Mumbai Indians (MI) were beaten by Delhi Capitals (DC) by 37 runs in their own den. The MI have a 16-9 head-to-head advantage against RCB and won five of the last six encounters between them.

Virat Kohli’s side, which underwent a revamp this year in pursuit of its maiden IPL title, failed to impress with its batting against CSK spinners in the first game even though the wicket on which the game was played came under the scanner. The RCB will need to raise their batting performance by quite a few notches in the MI game if they eye a quick return to the winning ways.

Hodge wants Moeen Ali to go down the order

Former Australia batsman Brad Hodge felt Windies batsman Shimron Hetmyer should bat at No.3 in the match against the MI so that “he can get little bit more pace on the ball”. Speaking on ESPNcricinfo, Hodge advised the “flexible” Moeen Ali, who batted at No.3 in the CSK match, to go down the order and said AB de Villiers, the former South African batsman, needed to fire.

The top order crumbled in Chennai with Kohli (6), Moeen Ali (9), De Villiers (9) and Hetmyer (0) falling cheaply. Wicket-keeper-batsman Parthiv Patel, who opened the innings with Kohli, was the highest scorer (29) for the RCB and the only batsman to have got into the double figure. The CSK won the game by 7 wickets thought they too had to earn the runs on a not-so-suitable wicket.

Hodge did not recommend any changes in the RCB’s playing XI that was fielded against the Super Kings but only suggested changes in the order. He said apart from Hetmyer, the player to look forward to in the clash against MI will be spinner Yuzvendra Chahal. The wrist-spinner bowled well in Chennai after starting the proceedings, taking the wicket of Shane Watson after conceding just six runs in four overs.

Hodge’s likely RCB XI against MI:

Parthiv Patel, Virat Kohli, Shimron Hetmyer, AB de Villiers, Shivam Dube, Colin de Grandhomme, Moeen Ali, Umesh Yadav, Navdeep Saini, Mohammed Siraj, and Yuzvendra Chahal.

Here is RCB’s squad for IPL 2019

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