IPL 2016, RCB vs MI Playing 11: Probable XI for Royal Challengers Bangalore and Mumbai Indians (Confirmed XI)

Confirmed Playing 11

MUMBAI INDIANS XI: Rohit Sharma(C), Parthiv Patel(WK), Ambati Rayudu, Jos Buttler, Kieron Pollard, Nitish Rana, Krunal Pandya, Harbhajan Singh, Tim Southee, Mitchell McClenaghan, Jasprit Bumrah.

ROYAL CHALLENGERS BANGALORE XI: Chris Gayle, Lokesh Rahul(WK), Virat Kohli(C), AB de Villiers, Shane Watson, Sachin Baby, Stuart Binny, Sreenath Aravind, Chris Jordan, Varun Aaron, Yuzvendra Chahal.

Royal Challengers Bangalore and defending champions Mumbai Indians will come face-to-face in the 41st match of the VIVO IPL 2016. Both teams have been highly inconsistent this season and currently find themselves in the bottom half of the points table. While MI are at the fifth spot with 5 wins in 10 matches, RCB are one place below them with 8 points from their 9 games so far. The match will be played at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore, which is the home ground for the Challengers. Mumbai have lost 2 matches on a trot and will be on the lookout to rediscover their winning form. Bangalore, on the other hand, are on the path to recovery with back-to-back wins in their two most recent games and will want to carry on with the momentum that they have gained.

Here's how the Royal Challengers Bangalore may line up for the match:

Batting

The RCB batting in the tournament has primarily been about skipper Virat Kohli and star batsman AB de Villiers. Kohli, in particular, has shown some incredible form and leads the race for the Orange Cap with 561 runs from 9 innings. de Villiers, meanwhile, has amassed 385 runs at an average of close to 43 and a phenomenal strike rate of 164.52.

Another batsman who has had a good time for RCB this season is KL Rahul, who has also been playing the role of wicket-keeper in the team. Rahul has scored 264 runs in 7 innings at an average of 44 and already has 3 fifties in the 2016 IPL. Shane Watson has also made some handy contributions down the order and has scored 137 runs till now.

Chris Gayle has been kept out of the team in recent matches but the team does not seem to be missing out on his services with the kind of form that Kohli and de Villiers are in.

All-rounders

Watson has easily been Bangalore's top all-rounder in this year's IPL; however, he has contributed more with the ball than he has with the bat. Other all-rounders that RCB have tried out this season like Stuart Binny and Parvez Rasool have not done enough in either department. A better performance will be needed from the all-rounders if the Challengers want to stay in the race for the playoffs.

Bowling

The bowling has been RCB's biggest problem in the 2016 IPL and has cost them quite a few matches in the tournament. Shane Watson has been their star performer with the ball with 14 wickets and an economy rate of under 8. Leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal had been struggling early in the tournament but has bowled much better in recent matches and currently has 7 wickets from 6 games.

Paceman Kane Richardson, who has played in 4 matches so far, did manage to claim 7 wickets but has been way too expensive. None of the other RCB bowlers have been able to make any sort of impact and this, in turn, has had a negative impact on the team's performance despite a stellar performance from the batsmen.

Probable Playing XI

Virat Kohli (c), KL Rahul (wk), AB de Villiers, Sachin Baby, Shane Watson, Travis Head, Stuart Binny, Chris Jordan, Yuzvendra Chahal, Varun Aaron, Iqbal Abdulla.

Mumbai will be looking to recover from 2 consecutive losses

Here's the team which may represent the Mumbai Indians on Wednesday:

Batting

MI skipper Rohit Sharma has been their top performer with the bat in the 9th edition of the IPL. In 10 innings so far, Rohit has scored 388 runs at a terrific average of 55.42 and as many as 5 half-centuries to his name. Ambati Rayudu has also displayed some good form with 277 runs in 9 innings at an average of just under 31.

Among other Mumbai Indians batsmen, Parthiv Patel, Jos Buttler, and Kieron Pollard have all scored a decent amount of runs but have not been very consistent. In their last match against the Sunrisers Hyderabad, Mumbai had a collective batting failure and were dismissed for just 92 runs in a chase of 178.

The batsmen will need to perform well for the Mumbai Indians to stay in contention for playoffs of the 2016 IPL.

All-rounders

The performance of the MI all-rounders has not been up to the mark this season. One of their new recruits from the auction, Krunal Pandya, has been quite decent with the bat and also hasn't bowled badly either, his younger brother Hardik Pandya, though, has failed to add much value with either bat or ball (but should retain his place). Keiron Pollard has played a couple of blistering knocks but his contribution with the ball has been negligible.

Bowling

In terms of their bowling, Mumbai Indians have depended on a lot on their pace duo of Mitchell McCleanaghan and Jasprit Bumrah. While McCleanaghan is the 2nd highest wicket-taker in the tournament with 14 wickets, Bumrah has picked up 11 wickets in 10 matches so far. Kiwi pacer Tim Southee has provided decent support with his 7 wickets at an economy rate of 8.

Talking about their spinners, only Harbhajan Singh has been a regular in the playing XI and has claimed 7 wickets till now. The other spinners in the Mumbai squad such as Shreyas Gopal, Jagadeesha Suchith, and Akshay Wakhare have received little or no opportunity to make an impression for their team.

The MI bowling will be tested when they face off against the mighty RCB batting line-up in their own backyard.

Probable Playing XI

Rohit Sharma (c), Parthiv Patel (wk), Ambati Rayudu, Jos Buttler, Krunal Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Hardik Pandya, Harbhajan Singh, Tim Southee, Mitchell McCleanaghan, Jasprit Bumrah.