By Bharath Ramaraj
There is always some intrigue surrounding a clash between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Mumbai Indians. It isn’t any different this time around, though Virat Kohli versus Rohit Sharma is now confined to history’s back pages after Kohli stepped down from leadership duties before the 2022 IPL season.
Both sides have a few aress of concern, especially in the backdrop of injury woes. The Faf du Plessis-led side would miss out on the services of Rajat Patidar, their enterprising middle-order batter, and Josh Hazlewood, the experienced Australian pace bowler, with heel and Achilles-tendon injuries. Glenn Maxwell too is struggling with an injury. So that would mean Reece Topley finding a place. The tall English bowler can swing the ball upfront alongside extracting some bounce. He has the left-arm angle and in the slog overs, he tends to impart some overspin on his variation.
Meanwhile, Mumbai Indians would miss out on the services of Jasprit Bumrah, their spearhead. They would, however, be delighted to have Jofra Archer in the mix. Since his comeback, Archer has bowled with a burst of pace on occasions. One of his best spells since his return was the six-for he took in the final ODI in South Africa, where he looked like the Archer of old. MI would be expecting more of the same.
MI also have expectations from Arshad Khan. The left-arm pace bowler can swing the ball both ways and nail the yorkers. He can also be useful with the bat. Hrithik Shokeen and Kumar Kartikeya could be the spin options. One of the key strengths of MI is their power-packed middle-order, which could consist of Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav, Cameron Green and Tim David.
Venue and Time
M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru. 7.30 PM IST
Toss and expected conditions: We could see a quintessential Chinnaswamy track – even bounce and good conditions for batting. Although, since the square was relaid, we have witnessed some tracks on the slower side. The captain winning the toss is again set to bowl.
Head-to-Head – MI have won 19, with RCB emerging triumphant in 13
Possible XIs and Impact Player Watch
Depending on the toss, the aggressive batter Manoj Bhandage (he can also bowl seam-up) could be an option for RCB as their Impact Player. They could also consider Michael Bracewell if they pick only three overseas players in the XI. On the other hand, MI could punt on Akash Madhwal as their Impact Player. Kumar Kartikeya might also come into the equation.
RCB: Faf du Plessis (C), Virat Kohli, Suyash Prabhudessai/Anuj Rawat, Mahipal Lomror, Michael Bracewell/Glenn Maxwell, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Shahbaz Ahmed, Reece Topley, Harshal Patel, Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj.
MI: Rohit Sharma (C), Ishan Kishan (WK), Cameron Green, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Tim David, Hrithik Shokeen, Shams Mulani, Arshad Khan, Jofra Archer, Jason Behrendorff.