IPL 2018, MI vs RCB: 5 players to watch out for

Tonight’s game in the VIVO IPL promises to be a high octane clash between two bigwigs Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Mumbai Indians (MI). The defending champions as has been the pattern in previous years have struggled to get going so far. They are yet to register a win in this year’s IPL.

Playing on their home turf on a true pitch which would guarantee a lot of runs but which would assist the bowlers early on, MI will hope that the players who matter for them come out of their slumber and start delivering. It’s not like they have been dominated in their first three games, it’s just that they were unable to capitalize on crunch situations in each game leading to defeats.

RCB, on the other hand, are hit with the same problems that have always affected them over the years. They are too dependent on their top order and in particular AB De Villiers and Virat Kohli. Their middle order has looked really fragile with only Mandeep Singh providing some hope for the RCB fans and team management.

And it’s not how well the bowlers execute strategies in the first half of the innings that matters, it’s the ability of the bowlers to keep a check on the runs in the death overs that is most crucial in a T20 game. For RCB this year they stocked up their bowling options and sadly only Yuzvendra Chahal has managed to maintain some sanity whereas the likes of Chris Woakes and Umesh Yadav have proven to be a little too costly when they bowl.

Both extremely talented, power-packed teams looking to sort out issues on their own. One would assume if MI’s batting has a good day then they can take that confidence into their bowling and triumph against RCB. We will have to wait and watch as to how the match unfolds!

Here are 5 players to watch out for in this match between MI and RCB:

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Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli would be ruing the fact that he looked so good at the Chinnaswamy Stadium the other day against Rajasthan Royals but couldn’t convert his fifty into a bigger score. His team needed him to kick on and that would have probably got RCB over the line chasing 218.

A miscalculated pull shot ended his brilliance but knowing his work ethics and the high standards he sets for himself, now that he’s found his touch and form he will be looking to bat long and deep and not allow the fragile middle order to be exposed.

The focus although would be on Virat Kohli’s captaincy ahead of this clash against MI at the Wankhede stadium. Will he back Brendan McCullum to come good at the top of the order? Looking at how fragile the middle order looks will he tinker with his Indian batting options?

After the defeat against RR, one gets a strong feeling that ‘Baz’ would sit out to accommodate either Colin De Grandhomme or Tim Southee in the side. Both are good options but De Grandhomme can fill the void in the middle order with some clean hitting and also can bowl 2-3 overs easily.

With Pawan Negi not impressing with the bat or ball the other day, will Virat Kohli be keen on giving Manan Vohra an opportunity? He like Mandeep Singh can accelerate from the word go and his inclusion adds more solidity and balance to the team.

We will have to see what the skipper does as clearly there are a lot of pain points which needs addressing as far RCB are concerned.

Mandeep Singh

Formerly with the KXIP franchise, Mandeep Singh has made a strong impact already in this year’s IPL playing for his new franchise RCB. He usually opens the innings but coming in at the number 5 or 6 position he has ensured that the acceleration continues after the likes of ABD and Virat Kohli depart.

RCB retained Sarfaraz Khan and sadly he hasn’t come to the party. A player who was given the responsibility along with Mandeep Singh to be the pillars of RCB’s middle order just looked so clueless, lacked confidence in the two games he played.

Having said that, Mandeep has made sure that he is doing everything from his side to ensure that the runs keep coming down the order as well. But with the likes of Pawan Negi, Sarfaraz Khan failing to deliver he has too much to do. Washington Sundar is a handy option to have but not in the middle order.

Mandeep offers a lot in the field as well. He is athletic and is among the better fielders in the outfield going around in the IPL. One would imagine he would enjoy the conditions at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai where the ball comes on to the bat making batting easy.

Rohit Sharma

As captain of the defending champions MI, Rohit Sharma had a lot of pressure to handle ahead of this IPL. Despite losing out some key players at the player auctions, the core of the MI team has been maintained.

The team has the hard hitters Evin Lewis and Kieron Pollard to go with their captain Rohit Sharma and local talents such as Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav. The bowling has looked little out of sorts at times but overall even that’s been good.

It’s just that in critical situations in each of their three games, MI weren’t able to bring home the advantage. A classic example being not able to finish the innings well against DD after a fantastic 15 overs with the bat.

Rohit Sharma the batsman will be someone everyone will be looking forward to. He has dropped himself down the order, a move which worked as we saw in the game against DD. Rohit is going too hard at the ball and is trying to force the issue a lot, not playing his natural game. If he sticks to his strengths and backs himself then no better place than the home ground of MI to find form.

It will also be interesting to see how he manages his all-rounders i.e the Pandya brothers- Krunal and Hardik and Kieron Pollard. All of them haven’t delivered so far, but he would know that even if one of the three finds their mojo then it would be trouble for RCB.

Pressure will be on, no captain would want to lose four games on a trot and definitely not someone who is a defending champion.

Krunal Pandya

Someone who has impressed one and all with his attitude and keenness to deliver for his side, Krunal Pandya would want to put on a complete performance against RCB today.

Krunal Pandya has been good with his effective left-arm off-spinners so far, getting some crucial wickets and putting the brakes on the opposing team’s scoring. His fielding and catching have been on par with what one has come to expect from him.

It’s his batting or lack of batting performances that has hurt the Mumbai Indians in this season so far. His team needed him to finish the innings on a high after the likes of Suryakumar Yadav, Evin Lewis, and Ishan Kishan have provided the right platform.

Soft dismissals and low scores have not helped. Even the likes of Hardik Pandya and Kieron Pollard have failed to impress as yet but it’s Krunal Pandya with his clean hitting who can cause serious damage to the order. Also, he brings in a lot of confidence and that gets transferred into the way he bowls and fields too when he starts contributing with the bat.

One thing which is for sure is that everyone who has followed his game would want him to deliver as when he gets going. It’s a treat to watch as he lights up the stadium with his performances.

Mayank Markande

The find of this year’s IPL, young Mayank Markande has impressed one and all. His ability to spin the ball both ways and ability to get wickets at regular intervals make him an asset for Rohit Sharma to have on his side.

People were of the impression that MI were heading into the IPL with very little experience in their spin department with only two recognized spinner’s in Krunal Pandya and Rahul Chahar. Mayank Markande turned out to be the unknown commodity that nobody even gave a look at.

But right from the word go, Markhande impressed with the way he flummoxed the CSK batsmen and how he followed that up with a quality of spell bowling which bought MI right back into the game against SRH.

He had an off day against DD in the last match he played, but that’s part of the IPL experience. As long as you have the backing of the captain and team management you can move on quickly from such disappointments. Going into the clash against RCB, Mayank Markande can take heart from the fact that young Afghan talent Mujib-Ur- Rahman bamboozled Virat Kohli. If Mujib can then even Markande can deceive Kohli as well.

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