IPL 2019 – Match 31: Mumbai Indians vs Royal Challengers Bangalore – MI Predicted Playing XI

After a hattrick of wins, the Mumbai Indians (MI) finally put a step wrong when they faced the Rajasthan Royals (RR) on Saturday. The middle-order lacked the flare and the bowlers failed to stop the onslaught from Jos Buttler. By the time they did, it was already too late. Even though a little pressure was built up, it wasn’t sustainable.

Now, with rejuvenated energies, the MI team is set for their next challenge. They will host the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) for the upcoming game in the IPL. There are a few questions circling the Mumbai management. How long they can keep someone like Yuvraj Singh out is one. The other is about the bowling attack. The captain and the coach would be pondering if they should prefer experience or youth.

Here is the Predicted Playing XI for the Mumbai Indians (MI):

Openers (Quinton de Kock (wk), Rohit Sharma (c))

Just before the match against the Royals, not many have batted for Quinton de Kock’s inclusion in the eleven. But MI decided to give him once more chance and he came out with flying colours. The left-hander was the backbone of the batting line-up in the last game where he scored 81 runs off 52 balls. If not for the conditions taking a toll on him, the South African might even have got to his century.

Rohit Sharma played well in the last game. But he is yet to get that big score. The opener is consistently getting into the thirties or the forties but is ending up playing a poor shot which he doesn’t do very often when representing India. Thus, he should be more careful with the aerial shots once the field restrictions are lifted.

Middle Order (Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Kieron Pollard)

The places of both Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan are in jeopardy. They are some quality players like Yuvraj Singh, Anmolpreet Singh, Aditya Tare and Siddhesh Lad who are eagerly waiting to pounce on an opportunity. Thus, these two need to start delivering right away. It would be nice to see MI persist with Ishan Kishan at four when there is a situation where 7 or 8 overs still left in the innings.

After the match-winning knock against the Kings XI Punjab (KXIP), Kieron Pollard never got going against the Rajasthan Royals. He scored 6 runs off 12 balls but continues to be an important member of the MI line-up. It is definitely not a bad idea to bat the Caribbean cricketer ahead of Hardik and Krunal.

All Rounders (Krunal Pandya, Hardik Pandya)

Even though he came out to bat in the last game, Krunal Pandya didn’t get to face a single ball. But with the ball in hand, he did a fabulous job. The southpaw picked up three important wickets of the opposition and conceded 34 runs in his four overs. But his efforts fell short as MI did not have a big enough total to deal with.

Hardik Pandya is possibly batting better than he ever did in the past. There is a certain determination and he seems hungry for runs and wickets. When he is on the field, there are a lot of emotions flowing out which testify that he wants to do well for the team. The way he is clearing the ropes has been a treat to watch.

Bowlers (Rahul Chahar, Jason Behrendorff, Lasith Malinga, Jasprit Bumrah)

Rahul Chahar has been bowling well and will continue to feature in the eleven. However, there could possibly be a change in the pace department. While Jason Behrendorff will hold onto his place, Alzarri Joseph might not. The youngster came under the pump in the last two matches and leaked a lot of runs.

He also seemed to have hurt his bowling shoulder as he tried to prevent a boundary against RR. Thus, there is no better time to introduce Lasith Malinga back into the eleven. He is experienced and is in decently good form. Along with Jasprit Bumrah, he makes a much better case to bowl at the death which has been a little concern in the previous two matches for MI.

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