The defending champions Mumbai Indians will lock horns with the Royal Challengers Bangalore at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi in what will be the 48th match of the Indian Premier League 2020.
The Mumbai Indians have won 7 matches out of the 11 played so far and are accompanied by the Delhi Capitals and Royal Challengers Bangalore with 14 points each. But the better net run rate of Mumbai Indians means that they are at the top of the table and the Virat Kohli led RCB side are placed 3rd on the table. A win here for either of the teams would ensure their spot in the top four.
The previous encounter between two sides went in favor of the Bangalore side. As both the teams could not be separated in the 40 overs and the match was taken to a super- over. Mumbai Indians after winning the toss opted to bowl first and the RCB were provided a blazing start by their openers Devdutt Padikkal and Aaron Finch, who put on 81 for the first wicket. With the late surge of Ab de Villiers and Shivam Dube, they managed to put a huge total of 201 on the board.
The Mumbai Indians had a poor start to their chase as they were reduced to 39/3 in the 6 overs and the RCB looked in the driver's seat. But the wicket-keeper batsman Ishan Kishan had different plans as he went out all guns blazing and scored an amazing 99 of 58 balls. With 19 runs required of the last over, the MI almost managed to pull it off but ended up 1 run short of the target. RCB were not ready to let the super over slip away from them and with MI only able to score 8 runs, the pair of ABD and Kohli chased it down comfortably.
Both the teams will come into this match on the back of losses as the Mumbai Indians were defeated by the Rajasthan Royals by 8 wickets. RCB were surprised by the Chennai Super kings as the Men in yellow after a string of losses managed to defeat the RCB by 8 wickets.
Who among the two do you think will prevail and seal their play- offs spot?
Match Toss Time: 17:30 Local (19:00 IST)
Match Start Time: 18:00 Local (19:30 IST)
Match Venue: Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Weather Report
The conditions are once again in favor of the sport as clear skies are expected throughout the day. The temperatures are expected to be hovering in the range of 26-29 degrees. While the humidity at peak is expected to reach 58 percent.
Pitch
The pitch in Abu Dhabi has always been on the slower side and in favor of the bowlers. But the last match between the Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals saw RR chase down a huge total of 195 with ease. It could be just a case of poor bowling by the MI. Said that not taking anything away from the RR batsmen- Ben Stokes and Samson. The pitch is still expected to be on the slower side and a score of 170 plus still looks to be a good score for the team batting first.
With the match scheduled to take place in the evening, as seen in the last match the due is sure to play a vital role.
Team News
MI captain Rohit Sharma missed out two matches in a row and still looks uncertain if he would be playing this one. There has not been any official report on the level of his injury but the fact that he was not selected to be part of the squad of the Australian tour makes us doubt if the MI captain would be able to play for MI in the upcoming matches. The MI are likely to go with the same Xl that played against the Royals.
The RCB too like the Mumbai Indians had a rare off day this season against the CSK side and they will be more than happy to feature the same Xl as the team has been doing a wonderful job this season.
Probable Playing Xl
Mumbai Indians (MI): Quinton de Kock (wk), Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, Saurabh Tiwary, Hardik Pandya, Kieron Pollard (c), Krunal Pandya, James Pattinson, Rahul Chahar, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah
Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB): Devdutt Padikkal, Aaron Finch, Virat Kohli (c), AB de Villiers (wk), Moeen Ali, Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Chris Morris, Washington Sundar, Navdeep Saini, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal
MI vs RCB Fantasy Team
Ishan Kishan, Quinton de Kock, Ab de Villiers, Hardik Pandya, Suryakumar Yadav, Virat Kohli, Krunal Pandya, Chris Morris, Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult, Mohammed Siraj
Captain Picks
Quinton de Kock (MI), Virat Kohli (RCB)
Vice-Captain Picks
Ab de Villiers (RCB), Ishan Kishan (MI)
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