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Struggling Mumbai Indians have tough task against strong Royal Challengers Bangalore
Misfiring Mumbai Indians, struggling to get their team combination right, will take on the formidable batting might of Royal Challengers Bangalore in a potentially explosive Indian Premier League clash at the Wankhede Stadium, in Mumbai, on Wednesday.
Royal Challengers Bangalore, on the other hand, have a tricky bowling combination to set right in the absence of injured Australian pace spearhead Mitchell Starc -- ruled out of the season – and miserly leggie Samuel Badree, who is yet to make an appearance in the T20 league after picking up an injury during the West Indies' triumphant run in the World T20 championship.
Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore have fought tooth and nail since 2008 with the IPL result score-line reading 9-8 in favour of the hosts, who have tasted defeat three times in four games this season, including the last two matches, in their bid to retain the crown they won after a similar, poor, beginning in 2015.
Last season, the score was tied 1-1, each team outsmarting the other in their respective away games.
Royal Challengers Bangalore come into the needle clash after being flattened by South African wicketkeeper-batsman Quinton de Kock's masterly hundred, the first ton by any batsman this season, and they will need to quickly correct their bowling combination.
Two-time title winners Mumbai Indians slumped to defeats in both their home matches this season –- to IPL debutants Rising Pune Supergiants and Gujarat Lions –- and will be keen to score their first victory at their traditional home ground in one of the two remaining games, scheduled at the Wankhede Stadium, before moving to Jaipur, which will become their new home for the rest of the season.
Save the match against Kolkata Knight Riders, another two-time champion outfit, when captain Rohit Sharma's superbly compiled unbeaten 84 led them to victory, Mumbai's top-order batsmen failed miserably.
In the other three games, the leading batsmen failed to click as a unit. Even a re-worked batting order against Sunrisers Hyderabad, by dropping the out-of-form Kieron Pollard from the eleven and making Parthiv Patel open the batting with newcomer Martin Guptill, a replacement for their consistent but injured opener Lendl Simmons, did not produce the desired result.
In the absence of their ever-reliant Sri Lankan pacer Lasith Malinga, Mumbai have depended upon the New Zealand duo of Tim Southee and Mitchell McClenaghan to make early inroads and this combination is expected to continue against Royal Challengers Bangalore.
After failing to contain SRH skipper David Warner in Hyderabad on Monday, Harbhajan Singh will be keen to get back o his best form at a ground he often bowls well.
With Englishman Jos Buttler not exactly setting the stage on fire, there could be a case for the big-hitting but yet-to-fire Pollard to regain his spot in the eleven.
Mumbai Indians have found in Krunal Pandya a left-handed spin bowling utility player who can bat well down the order.
But his better-known brother Hardik has so far failed to click both with the bat and the ball, although being given a more responsible role, and Mumbai Indians' think-tank would be expecting a quick turn-around in performance from this ebullient player.
Royal Challengers Bangalore's obvious might lies in their explosive quartet of top-order batsmen - Chris Gayle, yet to fire his missiles so far, captain Virat Kohli, A B de Villiers and Shane Watson, with the fearless Mumbai-based youngster Sarfaraz Khan to follow and end the innings in a flourish.
Gayle, who smashed 11 sixes in the WT20 game against England last month at the same venue, will miss the match, as the one against Rising Pune Supergiants on April 22, having returned to Jamaica for the birth of his first child.
Royal Challengers Bangalore's troubles lie mainly in their bowling attack in which Watson has been the lone stand-out performer.
New Zealand quick Adam Milne and South African all-rounder David Wiese leaked runs aplenty in one of the two games they played, but should relish the Wankhede track, which has supported seam bowling this season, if given the chance.
Australian pacer Kane Richardson too is waiting in the wings.
With Harshal Patel not getting the breakthroughs, Mumbai Indians may get in Stuart Binny, who can bat lower down and bowl medium pace, or Varun Aaron to take advantage of the extra pace on the track.
The Royal Challengers Bangalore spin attack of Yuzvendra Chahal and Parvez Rasool looks decent but not threatening.
The team bowling second could be handicapped by the dew factor.
Teams (From):
Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma (captain), Parthiv Patel, Hardik Pandya, Jos Buttler, Mitchell McClenaghan, Ambati Rayudu, Kieron Pollard, Harbhajan Singh, Jagadeesha Suchith, Tim Southee, Jasprit Bumrah, Shreyas Gopal, R Vinay Kumar, Corey Anderson, Unmukht Chand, Marchant de Lange, Siddhesh Lad, Kishore Kamath, Krunal Pandya, Deepak Punia, Nitish Rana, Jitesh Sharma, Nathu Singh, Akshay Wakhare, Martin Guptill.
Royal Challengers Bangalore: Shane Watson, Chris Gayle, AB de Villiers, Virat Kohli (captain), Stuart Binny, Iqbal Abdulla, Sreenath Aravind, Kedar Jadhav, Vikramjeet Malik, Kane Richardson, Varun Aaron, Mandeep Singh, Abu Nechim, Adam Milne, Yuzvendra Chahal, Harshal Patel, Travis Head, David Wiese, Sachin Baby, Lokesh Rahul, Parvez Rasool, Vikas Tokas, Sarfaraz Khan, Praveen Dubey, Akshay Karnewar.