MI v RCB: IPL MATCH 18 PREVIEW

The Mumbai Indians take on the Royal Challengers Bangalore in match no 18 at the MCA stadium in Pune.

MI are not new to losing initial games. 2008, 14, 15, 18, 22 in all these editions they have lost the 1st 3 games. In 2014 and 15 they went onto qualify for the playoffs and won the IPL respectively. But this a different MI side. They lack experience in the bowling apart from Bumrah who was also taken to the cleaners in the opening games against Delhi. Daniel Sams so far has bolwed 11 overs for 1/139 and was gave away 35 runs in a single over in the last game against Pat Cummins who launched one of the most brutal attacks against a bowling side. These type of losses are rare for MI. They don't lose games while defending in such manner. They could rope in Riley Meredith and Sanjay Yadav as replacements for Sams and Thampi.

RCB are coming off from 2 back to back wins. Their last game was a memorable chase against RR where they won from an almost improbable position. Dinesh Karthik has been RCB's best performer so far with 3 consecutive gem of an innings down the order. One area where RCB are lacking is the top order of Anuj Rawat, Faf and Virat Kohli who have not contributed much in the last 2 games. Addition of Glen Maxwell will be the biggest boost for the men in red. Maxwell hit 264 runs agaisnt spin at a SR of 154. With Faf, Kohli and DK crippled against leg spin, Maxwell's inclusion gives them a better chance at redrawing their strategies and entry points of batter's like DK

Probable XI

Mumbai Indians

Rohit Sharma (c), Ishan Kishan (wk), Dewald Brevis, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Kieron Pollard, Sanjay Yadav , Murugan Ashwin, Riley Meredith, Jasprit Bumrah, Tymal Mills.

Royal Challengers Bangalore

Faf du Plessis (c), Anuj Rawat, Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell, Dinesh Karthik, David Willey, Wanindu Hasaranga, Shahbaz Ahmed, Harshal Patel, Akash Deep/Sid Kaul, Mohammad Siraj.

Venue

MCA Stadium, Pune

-Average 1st innings total : 170.2
- Average 1st innings total in 2022: 190.5
-Average 1st innings winning total: 187.2
-Average Total batting 2nd: 157
-Highest total: 211/4 - CSK vs DC
-Lowest total: 73 - PBKS vs RPSG
-Teams batting 1st: Have won 20 matches
-Teams batting 2nd: Have won 21 matches

MI: Played 6, Won -4, Lost -2
RCB: Played - 6, Won -4, Lost 2

Head to Head

Overall: MI leads by 19-12
Batting 1st: MI leads by 10-6
Batting 2nd: MI leads by 9-6
Last 5 matches: RCB leads by 3-2

Match Ups

Kohli vs Bumrah: 126/4 at 150 sr
Faf vs Bumrah: 58/0 at 176 sr
Faf vs ashwin: 51/0 at 141 sr
Rohit vs Siraj: 50/0 at 139 sr
DK vs Bumrah: 54/0 at at 163.6
Maxwell vs Bumrah: 44/5 at 118 sr
Kohli vs Pollard: 36/3 at 118 sr
Pollard vs Harshal: 24/2 at 112 sr
Rohit vs Harshal: 27/2 at 122 sr

Form Update
(IPL 2021 and 2022)

Key players, Stats and Fantasy picks

Captain:

Faf du Plessis: He had a prolific last season with 633 runs and played a lion's share in CSK winning the final match. RCB would expect him to repeat his last season heroics at the top of the order and he has started this season with a knock of 88. 1600 runs at a SR of 135 are his nos since 2019.

Glenn Maxwell: He was RCB's best batsman last year with 513 runs at a SR of 144.

Ishan Kishan: He has 4 50s in his last 7 innings at a SR of 157.

Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are two of the biggest names in world cricket, but their recent records are just a shadow of what they were, esp Rohit who hasn't averaged 30 since 2017. A match-changing innings is always around the corner with these two superstars and its not a bad punt to choose them as your Captain/ VC since they both bat in the top order.

Vice Captain:

Wanindu Hasaranga: This all rounder from Sl was RCB's most expensive buy in the auctions. He is one of the most difficult bowlers to play in t20 cricket currently and is also a very handy middle order batter. He has 57 wkts from 35 matches at an eco of 6.39 in t20is. Yuzi Chahal performed the role of the lead spinner to perfection for 8 years and RCB would be hoping the same from Hasaranga. He took 4 wkts against KKR.

Suryakumar Yadav: MI missed a stable middle order batter in the 1st 2 games and were boosted by the addition of Sky in the last match against KKR. He is a vital cog in this MI line up and has produced 3 consecutive 400+ seasons from 2018-20. Returning from injury, he started slowly in the last game but ended his innings with 52 from 36 balls

Dinesh Karthik: He is yet to be dismissed in this season. 32*(14), 14*(7), 44*(23) These are his 3 outings so far where he displayed a masterclass while chasing against Rajasthan.

Budget Picks:

Tilak Verma: (Fantasy rating - 8/8.5 points)

The southpaw from Hyderabad was a member of India’s U19 World Cup in 2020. He was picked by MI at 1.7 crores after facing a little competition from SRH, CSK and RR. His last outings in VHT and SMAT are one of the major reasons why so many franchises raised the paddle for him. He scored 215 runs in SMAT at a strike rate of 147. Tilak Verma became the youngest batter for MI to score a half century in the last match against RR and followed it up with a 38 against KKR.

Mohammad Siraj: Mohammad Siraj is the most improved bowler in the past 2 years. His powerplay numbers are even more impressive with 12 wickets at 6.9 economy

Wildcard

Harshal Patel: He is RCB's 3rd highest wicket taker. Harshal 1st played for RCB in 2012 but he had his 1st breakout season in 2015 where he took 17 wkts. In a transfer deal, RCB got him from Delhi last season and entrusted him to bowl at the death. Harshal exceded everyone's expectations and took the joint most wkts in a single edition (32). He gets more dip than other bowlers which is the main reason his slower balls are difficult to put away. He created a record against KKR by bowling 2 maidens and got the prized wkt of Andre Russell. He has been MI's nemesis so far. In the last season he took a 5 wkt haul and a hattrick in the 2nd leg.

Fantasy XI