Strongest Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) Playing XI against Mumbai Indians (MI)

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) have endured a poor start to their IPL campaign in Phase 2 of the tournament. The Virat Kohli-led side has now lost 2 matches on the trot and is occupying the 3rd spot in the points table.

The Chennai Super Kings (CSK) hammered the Bangalore outfit by 6 wickets in their previous clash. Next, the Challengers will be up against the Rohit Sharma-led Mumbai Indians (MI) outfit, who too are yet to post a win in IPL Phase two.

Needless to say, the Bangalore outfit will be looking to post their first victory of the UAE leg of IPL 2021 when they lock horns with the five-time IPL champions. In this article, let us have a look at the predicted playing XI of the Bangalore side for their encounter against Mumbai.

Openers: Virat Kohli and Devdutt Padikkal

The RCB opening duo of Virat Kohli and Devdutt Padikkal provided an excellent start for the ‘Men in Red’ in their clash against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK). Kohli and Padikkal put on a 111-run opening stand in 13.2 overs and set the tone for the other batsmen to follow.

While Kohli scored 53 off 41 deliveries, Padikkal scored a flamboyant 70 at a strike rate of 140. Both these batsmen will look to continue their good work with the willow against the Mumbai Indians as well.

Middle Order: AB de Villiers, Glenn Maxwell, Rajat Patidar, and Srikar Bharat

The RCB middle order will comprise of AB de Villiers, Glenn Maxwell, Rajat Patidar, and Srikar Bharat. Both de Villiers and Maxwell have not found their mojo in IPL Phase 2. In the 2 innings that de Villiers has played in the UAE leg, the legendary South African batsman has only managed to score 12 runs.

Glenn Maxwell too has not got going in the UAE leg of the IPL. In the 2 innings that he has played in the Second Phase of the IPL, the right-hander has scored 10 and 11 respectively. At least one out of de Villiers or Maxwell needs to fire for RCB in their encounter against Mumbai Indians. Srikar Bharat did not get a chance to wield the willow in RCB’s previous match against Chennai. Rajat Patidar will most likely make a comeback into the side in place of Wanindu Hasaranga.

Bowlers: Kyle Jamieson, Harshal Patel, Navdeep Saini, Mohammed Siraj, and Yuzvendra Chahal

Kyle Jamieson might return back to the RCB playing XI after sitting out against the Chennai side. Harshal Patel was amongst the wickets in the match against Chennai. In the 3.1 overs that he bowled, the right arm pacer picked up 2 wickets and gave away 25 runs.

Navdeep Saini was carted to all parts of the ground and leaked 25 runs in the 2 overs that he rolled his arm over against Chennai and did not scalp a wicket. While Mohammed Siraj went wicketless too, in RCB’s previous rubber, Yuzvendra Chahal scalped a solitary wicket in his quota of 4 overs against Chennai Super Kings and leaked runs at an economy rate of 6.50 runs per over.