Transfers made – 1; Transfers remaining – 26
David Warner out – Rohit Sharma in
(Uncapped) Rajat Bhatia out – Yuzvendra Chahal in
Batting/Full match captain – Rohit Sharma
Bowling captain – Jasprit Bumrah
Batting Captaincy Options – Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers and Rohit Sharma
Considering the two bowling attacks on show today, I would be going in with Rohit Sharma as my captain for the match. If the move comes off, it could be a decent differential at this stage of the game. That Kohli has failed in 2 of the last 4 matches and is up against a side that would make him earn his runs makes this gamble worth it.
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As far as neutralising De Villiers is concerned, all I need is the opening pair to bat out the first 6 overs. Given their form and the flat nature of the deck, there are good chances of that happening. Anything more than that would obviously make it even better.
Bowling Captaincy Options – Shane Watson, Mitchell McClenaghan, and Jasprit Bumrah
The likes of Jos Buttler, Kieron Pollard and Corey Anderson wouldn’t be having many issues slogging Shane Watson out in a ground as small as Chinnaswamy, so I would prefer a Mumbai Indians bowler here. Also the RCB middle order – in the absence of Sarfaraz Khan and Kedar Jadhav –is really weak, so even if one of Kohli and De Villiers is not there at the crease in the last 5 overs, Bumrah could be amongst the wickets.
McClenaghan is an equally good pick, but I can’t get him into my team now.
Nature of the deck – Flat
Uncapped players – Unmukt Chand, Yuzvendra Chahal, Krunal Pandya
RCB – Fantasy Clinchers
Chris Jordan and Travis Head haven’t done much in the last two matches, but that their team has won on both the the occasions might just save them their place.
Chris Gayle would have stood a chance if not for the form shown by KL Rahul and Kohli at the top. Even if he gets in, Bumrah and McClenaghan will find a way through him.
Sreenath Aravind, who has an exceptional record in IPL matches at Bangalore, could replace Iqbal Abdulla for this match.
MI – Fantasy Clinchers
Tim Southee could be useful today with the new ball, as Bangalore usually has a little bit in it for the new ball bowlers. But looking at the bigger picture, they need to drop him and get in Corey Anderson or Martin Guptill to strengthen their batting line-up. Similarly Parthiv Patel could do well today as well, but you don’t rate someone by how well he plays against RCB’s bowling attack.
They have two options if they want to defend their title:
Option 1: Parthiv Patel and Tim Southee out – Martin Guptill and Vinay Kumar/Nathu Singh in
Option 2: Parthiv Patel, Hardik Pandya and Tim Southee out – Unmukt Chand, Corey Anderson, and Vinay Kumar/Nathu Singh in
On turners, they could play Shreyas Gopal instead of the fast bowler.
I would stick with Jos Buttler and Kieron Pollard despite them not doing much so far.
Match Call – MI to win if they make the right changes. In general, though, the chasing team will have a definite advantage here.
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