RCB vs MI Match Prediction: Who will win the match between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Mumbai Indians, IPL 2016, Match 41

The Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore is all set to witness a gripping encounter between home side Royal Challengers Bangalore and defending champions Mumbai Indians in the VIVO IPL 2016. MI have not followed up really well to their title-winning performance in 2015 and have lost 5 out of the 10 matches they have played. RCB have also been highly inconsistent this season and are currently 6th in the points table with just 4 wins so far.

The Bangalore side has easily been among the best batting sides in the 2016 IPL. However, their bowling has let them down quite badly and has been the primary reason behind their struggles in terms of results.

Mumbai, on the other hand, have had some good performances in both departments but there have been a number of matches where they have failed to come good as a unit. Their inconsistent run this year has cast a huge shadow over their hopes of defending their title.

It will be a crucial match for both teams as they will be fighting it out to strengthen their standing in the race to qualify for the playoff stage of the tournament.

Venue: Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore

Match date: 11 May 2016

Match timings: 20:00 IST, 14:30 GMT

If Royal Challengers Bangalore bat first

Predicted score: 180 and above

The batting has been in roaring form for the Bangalore team this season with skipper Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers firing all cylinders. Kohli is the leading run-scorer in the tournament with 561 runs whereas de Villiers has a tally of 380 runs in 9 innings.

Wicket-keeper batsman KL Rahul has also been in fine form and has hit three half-centuries so far. Shane Watson has scored some quick runs towards the end of the innings for RCB and boasts of a brilliant strike rate of 163-plus.

Such has been the batting performance from the Challengers that they have been able to afford putting a batsman like Chris Gayle out of the playing XI.

However, the bowling has been a major disappointment this season with Watson being the only bright spot. The Australian all-rounder has grabbed 14 wickets in the 2016 IPL and is currently second in the list of leading wicket-takers.

Other than the medium pacer, only leggie Yuzvendra Chahal has had a decent time with the ball as he has claimed 7 wickets and is one of the rare RCB bowlers to have an economy rate of under 9. Fast bowler Kane Richardson has also taken 7 wickets but proved to be very expensive in the 4 matches he played.

New recruits Chris Jordan and Tabraiz Shamsi have also not looked the part for the Royal Challengers Bangalore team with the ball. Kohli may want to make a few changes to the bowling attack in the match against Mumbai.

If Mumbai Indians bat first

Predicted score: 170 and above

Rohit Sharma has led the way for the MI batting with nearly 400 runs in the tournament with 5 half-centuries and a superb average of over 55. He has received very good support from the highly experienced Ambati Rayudu, who has scored 277 runs thus far in the 2016 IPL.

The likes of Parthiv Patel, Kieron Pollard and Jos Buttler have all pitched in but have not been able to make the kind of impact one would expect from them. Krunal Pandya has been a surprise performer with the bat with 128 runs at a phenomenal strike rate of 177.77; however, he too has been struggling of late.

A big disappointment for the Mumbai Indians has been Krunal's younger brother, Hardik Pandya. The all-rounder, who recently had a pretty good run for Team India, has not been able to emulate his heroics from the previous season.

The Mumbai pace bowling department has been the X-factor for them in this year's IPL. Kiwi paceman Mitchell McCleanaghan has been in great form and has picked up 14 wickets. Meanwhile, Jasprit Bumrah has also been highly effective with 11 wickets in the season.

Apart from McCleanaghan and Bumrah, Tim Southee has also bowled well and claimed 7 wickets till now. Among the spinners, only Harbhajan Singh has managed to grab 7 wickets but has not been as impressive as he was in some of the previous seasons.

Despite having lost 2 games on the trot, Rohit Sharma is likely to make minimal changes to the team in the match against the Royal Challengers Bangalore.

Probable Winners: Royal Challengers Bangalore