IPL 9, Match 14 MI v RCB Preview: Mumbai Indians hope for a miracle

The current IPL season has derailed the track towards glory for the Mumbai Indians. With three defeats in their last four matches, a comeback from the Mumbai Indians is more than expected. However, that will be a tall order, given the fact that it will be the Royal Challengers Bangalore who will be visiting this time around. Despite an ideal start to the campaign, RCB were left licking their wounds following a shock defeat at the hands of the Delhi Daredevils. While Mumbai will want to change the trend of losing at home, the Challengers will be looking to cash in on some bad form in the Mumbai Indians ranks.

Team News

Mumbai Indians:

The Mumbai Indians are at a phase wherein each loss pushes them further down in the points table. Apart from the win against the Kolkata Knight Riders, MI have been substandard in their performances thus far. With the likes of Hardik Pandya and Kieron Pollard failing to fire, things certainly look gloomy in the Mumbai Indians camp. The addition of Martin Guptill has done little to lift the spirit of the beleaguered Mumbai Indians.

The spotlight in the Mumbai ranks will be on an unlikely player. Krunal Pandya was an unknown commodity before being picked up in the auction by MI. Having been given an opportunity to perform, the older of the Pandya brothers has been somewhat of a revelation. His amazing performances with both bat and ball may well see the Mumbai management allow him to bat up the order.

Royal Challengers Bangalore:

The Royal Challengers began their IPL campaign with a bang. A resounding win over the Sunirisers and they looked superhuman. A loss to the Delhi Daredevils, unfortunately, brought them crashing back to earth. However, despite the negative result, the positive takeaways from the match are evident.

While the batting has always been a strong point of the RCB side, the bowling has been something of a disaster. Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers once again clobbered their way to a hefty RCB total, but a frugal bowling attack prevented the win. The absence of Mitchell Starc is certainly hurting the RCB line-up. However, with the likes of Adam Milne and Kane Richardson within the ranks, it would be a surprise not to see them enter the fray for selection.

Probable XI:

Mumbai Indians:

Rohit Sharma (C), Martin Guptill, Parthiv Patel (wk), Jos Buttler, Ambati Rayudu, Krunal Pandya, Hardik Pandya, Mitchell McCleneghan, Tim Southee, Harbhajan Singh, Jasprit Bumrah

Royal Challengers Bangalore:

Virat Kohli (C), AB de Villiers, Shane Watson, Sarfaraz Khan, Travis Head, Kedar Jadhav (wk), Parvez Rasool, Yuzvendra Chahal, Harshal Patel, Adam Milne, Abu Nechim

StAttack

1. The Indians and the Challengers have met on 17 occasions. The head to head sees the Mumbai Indians with their noses in front with 9 wins. RCB have won 8.

3. The Mumbai Indians currently hold the records for scoring the most 1’s, 2’s and sixes.