RCB will face off against the Delhi Capitals in match 27 of this year’s IPL. Delhi come from an all-around performance against KKR as they performed exceedingly well in all departments to get them a win by a huge margin.

RCB walk into this fixture after a loss against CSK as they conceded 215 with no control over the ball in the last 10 overs conceding close to 155 runs in the last 10 overs alone which is concerning by any means. 

With a top-order failure in the powerplay, RCB had done well to recover as they had dispatched the bad balls while limiting the dot balls by converting the 1s and 2s. 

What will make RCB fans happier is that this effort was done by 2 youngsters against a top-class bowling attack.

Pitch Report:

Wankhede is where these 2 teams will lock their horns. A standard stadium for the Indian team and has seen a lot of IPL matches take place, teams will have a lot of data to work with regarding this venue. The curators have managed to keep a high grass covering to make sure the pitch holds on really well.

In the previous games, we have seen the ball grip and turn a lot which made it really hard for the batsmen to face the leg spinners but with enough pace on the surface, any full-length balls or short balls were easily put away.

The surface has been harder to bat on compared to the other venues. There is enough swing on offer that the new ball bowlers can exploit. Batsmen have struggled to use the powerplay efficiently and any team which has tried to take an aggressive route has lost a lot of wickets in the process. Teams batting first have looked for the boundaries more often than not and in the process have completely disregarded strike rotation.

Bowlers haven’t figured on what death overs to bowl as the pitch seems to get easier to play as the innings progress.

With both teams having very conventional bowlers, this will be a very interesting game for the viewers.

In-Depth Phase Wise Comparision

Powerplay → Faf and Anuj will be up against Khaleel and Mustafizur.

Both these bowlers are not bowlers who massively swing the ball but it’s about placing the ball in the right areas along with their left arm action that makes them a threat to batsmen.

Du Plessis has enjoyed playing at the Wankhede as he averages 40 with a healthy average of 131.

DC has managed to pick up at least a wicket in the powerplay so far and will be up against a duo who rarely give away their wicket in this period. 

RCB have a more explosive batting lineup with Maxi and Suyash involved, so continuing their current approach is not viable in any way as they have one of the lowest averages in the powerplay this season.

Rawat has shown intent but only when his strike rate starts to fall while Du Plessis seems to look for a feel of the conditions for a very long time. With a struggle for the top 3 batsmen against Kuldeep and their other economical spinners, we will see a more aggressive approach.

What will be interesting to watch is if they can play in an aggressive manner while also keeping wickets in hand, having batsmen available in the back end is what has made RCB chase down or set up a huge target,

In my opinion, we will see Anuj Rawat play more of a Shaw-Esque role where he will look to go after any traditional deliveries which he has the capability to do while Faf will also look at a more aggressive route.

With wickets falling in the powerplay and Anuj who has been under pressure with Suyash performing, I strongly feel DC will walk away as winners with the ball in this phase.

Prithvi Shaw has been an absolute monster in the powerplay so far!!! The ability to read the line and lengths so quickly and play with so much freedom is something we rarely see. 

What makes him really special is the fact that he doesn’t always need to swing his bat and hope the ball goes to the fence, he uses the field restrictions and more often than not plays shots with complete control. 

With a strike rate of 152 and 162 against the RCB quicks, he will be the player to watch out for. In a Mumbai track that will help him, I cannot see a change in approach.

Warner has been among the runs with his loss in the last game but doesn’t seem like his old self. Whenever a player of his level gets to face so many balls, they often demolish the bowlers especially when they have bowlers but Warner has had to rely on innovative shots to get to his scores. Taking nothing away from the batsmen, but he hasn’t been his usual self.

With a tidy record against the pacers and a slow middle over RR, we will see Delhi continue an approach that has worked so far.

Middle overs → RCB have the best middle order in the league with the addition of other batsmen and Shahbaz’s spin hitting ability proving its worth once again.

Kohli, Maxi, Suyash and Shahbaz will be eager to come back on the field after the last game.

Shahbaz has been able to use the pace of the bowlers but his spin hitting ability wasn’t well known which was a concern as with DK waiting and him playing up the order he had to face a lot of spin. 

Against CSK, not only did he play well against spin he didn’t take too many risks. He used any space given to him and minimized the number of dots.

Suyash is someone RCB have been impressed with over the past year or 2 and after finally starting his first game, he did nothing less than impressing the entire fanbase.

Powerful shots with a 360-degree range of hitting are what make him special.

The duo had a huge target against them and had managed to turn 1 into 2’s and never looked out of place which is something we very often see in youngsters.

Maxi has been on fire, with an amazing bbl season and a rocking start to the season where he took apart CSK’s bowling in the few balls that he had faced.

Maxwell will be up against Axar who has a trait that is quite similar to Jadeja and is causing Maxi some problems. The ball for both these bowlers seems to skid on more than others and when the ball does come straight off the arm and has no spin, the position maxi gets into makes it very hard for him to adapt.

Maxi vs Kuldeep has been a very volatile matchup. With only a small sample size of 14 balls, Maxi has hit 5 boundaries with the southpaw getting his wicket twice.

Kohli in Wankhede is enough to make him a threat. Having not been in great form he will be looking to score some runs and if RCB are fortunate enough to have a good powerplay it will make it more comfortable for him to express himself in the middle.

Despite having in-form Kuldeep the sheer depth and quality of the players will mean that RCB will look to score most of their runs in this phase of the innings.

Before I start talking about DC let me just put up a stat for you, DC HAS the LOWEST STRIKE RATE AGAINST SPIN AT 6.71. 

Normally this would indicate the lack of quality or that the team looks at other phases to score but if only it was that simple.

Pant, Yadav and Powell in the middle overs just haven’t worked so far. Lalit’s batting position isn’t confirmed as he keeps moving. 

Without undermining Lalit’s contribution but having a Lalit Yadav as your best middle-order batsman this season is a very big concern. Pant is struggling to rotate the strike and often has to take the risky route to ease the situation. Any overseas batsmen will struggle on a subcontinent pitch with quality spinners.

Having seen a more submissive Pant since his captaincy debut, Dc will need to rethink their strategy as they will be up against the spin trio of Hasaranga, Shahbaz and Maxwell.

Maxwell’s experience along with Shahbaz’s accuracy will make it hard for DC to score quick runs against these 2 who are expected to bowl a combined 4 overs. Hasaranga is getting better as time passes with no major change in his game plan which is a good thing as it shows optimum clarity.

With RCB leaking too many runs last time around, we can see them playing it a bit more safe and bowling lengths which don’t give too many runs forcing the initiative on the DC trio to score runs in this phase.

Death overs → Dc have some quality Indian batsmen to finish things off, something which I feel should be employed by all IPL teams. 

With a feel for the conditions and some power, it will be an attack that RCB will have to be careful with. 

Having failed so far, they will have a point to prove as they go up against an attack that has also failed so far.

Hazlewood, Siraj and Harshal will have to take care of these batsmen. With Siraj getting back in form along with Hazlewood who has continued to be as accurate as ever, RCB will look at this as a favourable matchup.

Having a lot of quality bowlers means that if the batting team ever loses sight of their initiative the result will not end well. DK continues to wreak havoc as he had a good cameo against CSK. With Harshal back they will be happy to have another capable player to assist these bowlers.

RCB will be happy to have Harshal the batsman back. With both him and Wanindu, DK will have more freedom to go after every ball and with an extra batsman, we will also see support. 

DC has been really brave so far by bowling standard lengths and backing the bowler’s skill sets. With their bowling working out as an overall package it will be unfair to say that they have underperformed.

Important Players

RCB → Harshal Patel and Glenn Maxwell

Harshal will be available for the game and I think he will be starting this one. With DC having a low strike rate against spin, they will look at Harshal as an option to get runs. 

With a more stable death bowling, we could see Harshal more in the middle overs against a team that will be looking to get many runs in this phase.

Harshal now has a chance to both get lots of wickets while continuing to maintain his economy of 5.6 which makes him the best option to become your Dream XI captain.

Maxwell will always be important with his X-factor but even so now as he has to face Kuldeep. 

With Kuldeep’s resurgence in this season’s IPL, batsmen will have a more conservative approach and in the off chance that someone gets a chance to hit him for a six, he comes back with an even better ball. 

What has made Maxi special is his ability to continue hitting these shots even with the bowler improvising? Maxwell will be back after the CSK game where he hit very good CSK spinners away. 

With Akash Deep set to be dropped for Harshal and the pitch griping on we might see him bowl and over or 2 with the ball.

DC → Kuldeep Yadav and Prithvi Shaw

With the ball gripping on and the chinaman being in top form, it is not an unexpected choice to be one of DC’s main players today. 

With RCB playing an extra batsman, we will see at least 1 batsman go after the spinner and more often than not I feel we will see Kuldeep come out as the winner.

Shaw has been in top form as he absolutely demolishes any bowler in the powerplay. Reading the line and length faster and always having the exact idea of how much the ball bounces is a skill very few possess. 

Having been given a license to go after the bowlers, he will try his best to repeat the same against RCB. This will be a very interesting clash as he is up against Siraj and Hazlewood. 

These 2 pacers have been bowlers who have been very consistent with their staple lengths and so far have not shifted away from the plan but with Shaw going after these balls, I feel he will lose his wicket but not before he can land a few blows on the players. 

If Hasaranga does bowl in the powerplay, he has been bowling bad lengths which would only increase the run rate.

Key Matchups

DC vs RCB Dream11 Team

The Most Successful Team in the history of the league will be facing a team that is playing its debut season. The stories in this season are quite opposite, Mumbai Indians, even after playing 4 matches failed to register a win in the points table. Lucknow in the same number of matches registered 6 points on the table. 

Lucknow is coming in this game, after a close encounter against Rajasthan, where their own decision of sending Marcus Stoinnis at 8th position cost them the match. 

Pitch Venue Report

The match will be played in Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai. A venue that is quite favourable for batsmen both historically and recently. In the 5 matches played on this venue so far in IPL 2022, 1st innings scores of 177, 210, 180, 189 and 215 are recorded, and 3 out of the 5 times, these totals got chased.

Coming specifically to afternoon games on this venue, with less swing and almost no dew, the role of spinners has increased drastically, in comparison with night games. In the 2 afternoon matches we witnessed on this venue, Spinners got as many wickets as Fast Bowlers even by bowling around just 38% of total overs. A pacer is getting a wicket per 22 balls, whereas a spinner just takes 14 balls to do the same. 

Probable Playing XI

Mumbai Indians

Ishan Kishan (wk), Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Dewald Brevis, Tilak Verma, Kieron Pollard, Fabien Allen, Jaydev Unadkat, Murugan Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Tymal Mills, 

Lucknow Super Giants

Quinton de Kock (wk), KL Rahul (c), Deepak Hooda, Ayush Badoni, Marcus Stonnis, Krunal Pandya, Jason Holder, Krishnaspa Gowtham, Andrew Tye, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan

Important Players

KL Rahul: Even though that Lucknow’s Captain has not performed much in the 5 matches till now, He is by far the most prolific run-getter in the last 4 seasons (2018-2021) of IPL by scoring 2548 runs with an average of 62. His consistency in this format is remarkable, and with having great matchups against all the Mumbai Bowlers, he has a chance to play up to his potential in this game.

Ravi Bishnoi: As mentioned in the Pitch Report, Spinners in terms of wickets (or dream 11 points) have provided more value than fast bowlers and with both the MI openers averaging less than 30 against Right-Arm LegBreak Bowlers (in IPL). 

Ishan Kishan: 15.25 crore, the most expensive player in IPL Auction that too by a margin of 1 crore, has not lived up to his expectations or the price offered. 

In this IPL season so far, He has scored 178 runs with an average of 44 but the scoring rate of these runs is a major issue for his team. He scored these runs with a strike rate of 122. His way of batting will have a major impact on the success of Mumbai.

I preferred him over Rohit Sharma due to matchups and the fact that he is a wicketkeeper which can you give you points worth 10-20 runs just by this.

Jasprit Bumrah: The Bowling Quality of Sharma’s Army has reduced significantly compared to previous years. They have remained with just one wicket-taking fast bowler, Bumrah. 

Rohit’s usage of him will play a decisive role in the result of this match, especially when they are against a side with quality batting. Considering LSG’s heavy top order and Rohit’s way of captaincy, Bumrah will most probably bowl 2 overs within the powerplay. One (if required) in the 2nd middle overs phase, or unless 2 in the death. 

Bowling in death means there are high chances of getting wickets, which makes Bumrah a great option to consider as Captain or Vice-Captain in your Fantasy XI, especially in the case of Mumbai Bowling First.

Some Important Numbers/Trivia

• Bumrah is yet to take a wicket at Brabourne Stadium and bowled with an economy of 11.86 (2 matches)
• Kieron Pollard averages less than 22 and never scored a 50 at this venue (8 Matches)

Key Matchups

MI vs LSG Dream11 Team

RCB have a chance to go on top of the table as they are set to face CSK in match 22 of this season’s IPL.

RCB will have to change venues yet again as they move back to DY Patil stadium.

They showed a lot of courage and executed their plans really well in the previous game against Mumbai Indians. Hard lengths along with subtle variations to expose the weakness of each batsman meant that they had a below-par total to chase.

SKY’s onslaught over the bowlers should not be something RCB should worry about as they had bowled according to the plan and it was more to do with Surya’s execution.

We might have also seen the most mature batting performance this season. With the pitch holding up and MI bowling pitch-perfect lengths, RCB relied on strike rotation and looked to use any pace given to them to target the gaps which meant they reached the target with little to no risk being taken.

Without Harshal Patel and a new face in the bowling lineup, it will be interesting to see if they are as accurate as they have been this season.

CSK on the other hand was blown away by SRH with both the bat and ball.

They have been known not to make changes, but with their season falling apart, will they look at other options on the bench as uncertainties about Deepak’s availability continue to grow?

Pitch Report/Analysis

DY Patil has changed a lot since RCB last played. The pitch seems much more dead but isn’t breaking apart, indicating a strong presence of grass but enough to help the bowlers.

The pitch has been supporting the bowlers with enough turn and the ball keeping its line which really troubles the batsmen. It is not gripping as much as the other pitches.

The pace of the ball is being used as well as the carry, that we usually get, is not there anymore. With the pitch’s bouncy nature it is easier to dispatch the ball. The fuller lengths are being given no mercy with the ball going to all parts of the ground when it is being bowled there.

The excess pace is the only kind of bowling that yields no dividends as there has been no success so far and as time passes it will only get worse.

The T20 fundamentals still work. Batsmen should take their time to settle and should continue to use explosive choices in the middle to increase their CRR.

This pitch reminds me of the Rajiv Gandhi stadium which has a batting surface with enough assistance to the bowler to keep the competition alive.

Phase Wise Comparision

Powerplay → RCB’s batting will be up against Theekshana and Choudhary. Choudhary tends to bowl a fuller length which shouldn’t work. 

Theekshana’s role will be interesting to watch. He bowls much flatter than the usual spinner and has high control which will force batsmen to be innovative and depend on their feet moving to tackle his bowling. 

I feel RCB will walk out as winners with Rawat being in top form and not losing any wickets in the powerplay to an MI bowling attack that had lots of variation will mean that this duo will be favourites walking into this clash.

Gaikwad continues to struggle with Uthappa having a rare failure in the powerplay. With spinners proving to be lethal, RCB might look to Maxi or Shahbaz to pitch in with an over or 2. 

Siraj has been missing his lengths so far and overseas internationals are struggling to hit the ground up and running. 

Strictly from a statistical standpoint RCB shouldn’t give them too many runs and maybe pitch in with a wicket or 2. 

RCB have so far not been able to bowl very tight lengths and instead have gotten wickets through batsmen going too hard at the ball. 

Based on form and overall merit, I think both of them will have an equal chance to succeed in this part of the game.

Middle overs → Virat Kohli, Maxi and Shahbaz will be against a rather mediocre CSK bowling lineup. 

With DJ Bravo containing runs won’t be a problem but pairing that along with wicket-taking deliveries is what makes a team successful which CSK have so far not been able to do. 

Ali and Jadeja troubled RCB last year but have been nothing more than ordinary this year. 

The usage of Chris Jordan is also not clear as he is being asked to bowl regular seamer lengths which are not his strongest trait. 

With Theekshana we could see Jordan operating more in the middle overs trying to replicate the role DJ Bravo and Harshal Patel have been doing so far which is mixing up lengths and adding lots of variation.

Kohli seems to be back with a well-made 48 where he rotated the strike and played some risk-free shots, confirming RCB’s victory before he got out to a wrong call by the 3rd umpire.

Strike rotation seems to be a problem on this pitch as batsmen either get juicy full-length balls or struggle to find room and have to take the aerial route, the solution which has been pioneered by Virat. 

Maxwell, the player has the uncanny ability to have a high strike rate even while struggling to adapt to the pitch.

360 range of shots with high match awareness makes him a threat to every single team and his vast experience means that he works well with almost every kind of player. 

With the pitch still proving to be a threat we might not see the huge 100 runs in the middle, but anything less than 70-80 will be an under-par score for this pair.

Ali, Rayudu and Dube, are very good strikers of the ball and have the ability to dispatch the ball out of the ground with power alone. Their struggle against certain kinds of bowlers is very visible tho.

Ali is a well-rounded player whose match awareness is one of his most valuable assets. The ability to read the game so well and change gears is what has made him successful so far and with a 50 in the last game, he will be the batsman to get out for the RCB bowlers.

Rayudu and Dube have limited footwork and struggle to read any sort of variations. 

Hasaranga will have the edge over both of them with his clever deception and change of pace. 

Rayudu has struggled with the short ball and Dube has little to no room as he never moves his feet which is something Akash deep will take advantage off.

Shahbaz’s ability is still not certain as he has bowled well but has always looked to keep a low economy more than wicket-taking balls, which is always worrying for a youngster.

RCB walkout clear favourites in this part.

Slog overs → Without Harshal Patel RCB will look to Sid Kaul to bowl these overs. 

Having improved quite a bit, he will be looking forward to impressing the management with his skills but it will be a very hard task. 

Hazlewood’s form is something we are not sure about and Siraj has been bowling lengths that even debutants don’t bowl.

This trio’s performance on the day will be under a dark cloud of uncertainty as they will be up against India’s finest ever finisher(Dhoni), India’s most informed finisher(Jadeja) and a huge tail that wags when it is asked to.

Without a change in fortune for these bowlers, CSK will look to capitalize and gain as many runs as possible in this phase of the game.

Over the past so many seasons we have seen teams spend a lot for experienced players who have done well in IPL before. 

With skill being an obvious factor in this equation, it’s also about how much teams value players who they can always rely on.

With everything going wrong with the bowling lineup and RCB batsmen having batsmen who are very explosive, DJ will be CSK’s go-to man to stop any sort of onslaughts on their bowling attack. 

His contribution may not make enough difference if the rest don’t pitch in but his success with the ball is all but guaranteed in this match.

Key Matchups

CSK vs RCB Dream 11 Team

As we head into match 18 of the IPL we have Royal Challengers Bangalore facing off against out-of-form Mumbai Indians.

RCB and MI have been 2 superstar teams and when they face off against each other we have always seen a lot of excitement from the demolition of ABD and Kohli to MI winning it after snatching the victories with some serious power-hitting.

The match will be taking place in Pune and today I will talk about

• How the pitch is acting so far
• Key Matchups 
• Important Players
• Some predictions related to the match
• Dream11 Teams

The venue has only seen 3 games so far with an average first innings score of about 180.

The pitch seems to hold up initially which makes the powerplay a hard place to bat in, especially if there are quality pace bowlers present.

Gill’s innings will be the blueprint for how batsmen should structure their innings.

The bounce is somewhat predictable but with the pitch having 2 faces along with the good length causing trouble teams have not really figured out the perfect way to build their innings here. 

Playing the long innings is key in any form of the game but in a t20 game the risk-reward factor is proving to be a headache so far, to help their experienced players play longer we have seen batsmen attempt to take on the opposition quickly in all these games with certain failures and success.

Spinners and powerplay bowlers have so far been the most effective bowlers here.

There is enough on offer to keep the batsmen guessing and the seam movement and pace variation initially are proving to be a big headache for all opening batsmen.

Phase Wise Comparision

Powerplay→ RCB’s opening duo so far has been built on their composure and picking out bad balls. MI have the swing of Sams and the clever variations of Mills are what they will be up against.

RCB will clearly win this part of the game as their openers have been very smart in dealing with all kinds of powerplay situations. They don’t risk their wickets and have been scoring at a good rate against all kinds of bowlers. With this pitch, the best way would be to stay put and keep wickets in hand which makes their job easier. MI bowlers have been missing their lengths and unless all of them as a unit have to build up pressure to get any sort of result.

Jasprit Bumrah will bowl in the powerplay which is something RCB have to be careful with. Bumrah produces magic balls at any time we should have a conservative approach against him.

Mi has 2 experienced players in Kishan and Rohit. Willey, Siraj and Akash deep will be the bowlers RCB will use.

MI has been really slow and with the need to play longer innings we might see yet another conservative start from their openers. RCB Pacers have the swing, pace and bounce in their bowlers to trouble these batsmen. With Brevis coming in later the odds are yet against stacked on RCB’s side with only one problem of them leaking too many runs which I will talk about later.

Middle overs→ RCB will be the team to beat in this phase with the Big show back in the XI for this match. Kohli, Maxwell, Willey and Shahbaz against Ashwin, Sams and the part-time bowler.

As I mentioned in my previous article they will cover all bases with Ashwin being mi’s biggest asset. He has switched to unusual lines and is the only bowler who can get those rapid wickets.

Brevis, SKY and Tilak will be the batsmen for MI and if they do manage to win the match it will be because of them. Fearless approach, smart batting and partnerships are the bases this trio covers. They are not scared to step out and SKY’s ability as a batsman doesn’t need any introduction. Hasaranga so far has been a hit and miss with too many bad balls in his spells which the Mi batsmen will definitely take advantage of. Shahbaz hasn’t been able to bowl too many overs and the odds will be stacked against him if he does come on to bowl at this crucial time. Akash deeps last over and pollard being in the XI will force him to bowl out early. Sky’s versatility will be his main problem with the batsmen being skilful enough to move the ball to all parts of the ground.

With these batsmen looking in fine touch I certainly don’t see the RCB bowlers doing anything special in this phase which means MI will walk out as winners.

Slog overs → Dinesh Karthik blew apart Rajasthan as they looked clueless with his masterful batting. Harshal can also help with the bat along with the middle order batsmen pitching in will be against a bowling lineup that loses most of its games in this phase. The bowlers are missing their lengths and for a rare good ball bowled there will be 2 half volleys being bowled.

One can’t be kind to this attack as they are creating problems with their horrific execution.

The mental aspect of this is another troubling factor as Rohit cant bowl out all his bowlers over the fear that it will come back to haunt them in death.

Pollard with a license to demolish is probably the scariest thing for a bowler and this won’t change for RCB. Siraj has proven that he can bowl according to plan but nothing has clicked so far.

Key Players for Both Teams 

Mumbai Indians → Jasprit Bumrah, Surya Kumar Yadav

Jasprit Bumrah is a bowler who can trouble any batsman at any point of time. The high pace and accuracy of the highest order are what make him special. If these 2 aspects alone don’t scare batsmen he has been bowling variations that will scare any batsmen.

Rohit’s usage of Bumrah is something that has amazed me so far. It really shows his skill as a captain with his plan. Bumrah’s 4 overs are spread over all across the innings and so far he has managed to create an impact with every single ball. He creates pressure on the batsmen even when they score at a high RPO. He gets wickets of centurions and keeps every batsmen silent in the death.

Rohit’s man-management is something every captain can learn from and Bumrah seems like the only player in their squad who can make a breakthrough and create pressure on the batsmen.

Surya has just returned from an injury but was quick to get back amongst the runs as he has already scored his first 50 of the season. Aggressive against spin and ability to move the ball to all parts of the ground is how Surya scores his runs. Hasaranga has been bowling bad balls regularly and is struggling to find a staple length by being too predictable or bowling bad deliveries in general. Akash deep will have to bowl in the middle, especially with Willey bowling upfront. The excess pace and bounce along with Cummins’s onslaught of pacers certainly mean that if MI wants to target a bowler it will be Akash. Shahbaz hasn’t bowled much to be used as a reliable backup if these bowlers fail.

Royal Challengers Banglore → Harshal Patel and Glenn Maxwell

Harshal continues to impress anyone and will be a crucial player in any team that he plays for but this game will be more important than others for him. MI have a strong opening pair with finishers who can single-handedly win the game. Harshal being asked to bowl from the 9th over would mean that he could potentially be put up against a set opener or the finishers like Pollard. His dot ball pressure along with wicket-taking ability will be a good indicator on who comes out on top as a good Harshal spell would certainly mean that at least 1 part of MI’s batting has been neutralised.

This is in no way from his record against MI last season as I think it’s both pointless and stupid to use those stats as MI has a new lineup with different conditions with their blue jersey being the only common point between these years.

RCB have been losing wickets in the middle over and there has been a slow run rate at this part of the innings. Maxwell will be very important as our opening pair has been able to go at a good rate, Kohli can use the extra time to settle in and the finishers will benefit from a better platform with Shahbaz and DK striking the pacers well. More than Maxwell’s score alone his influence in the middle will make it easier for other players to play their roles in a more efficient manner.

I think RCB head into this tie as favourites for obvious reasons.

If RCB wins the toss I see them having a 65% chance of winning the game and if MI wins the toss it would go down to 55% but with RCB still as favourites.

MI is not a team to take lightly as they have players who can alone cause havoc and with their pacers getting more game time we might also see a better performance.

RCB on the other hand have seen results fall in their favour but have been pathetic so far in the field. Misfields have been on a high and the bowlers are struggling to bowl accurately.

It’s one thing giving runs because the batsmen are better than the bowler on that day but gifting them runs is one thing RCB need to work on.

Siraj has been looking for too much from the wicket and is giving away runs by bowling balls drifting down the leg or with them being too short-pitched.

Record-high extras against PBKS, conceding 30 odd runs to tail-enders and having your star bowler getting dispatched by a batsman who has struggled in an innings have all been done by RCB this season.

RCB need to be smarter with how their bowlers execute their plans and gifting away runs every single game will eventually make them unworthy of any success.

To show how this has affected them, in the game against PBKS we had seen Siraj bowl an expensive powerplay over with too many wides some of which even ran off to the boundary, Hasaranga constantly lost his line and length and would bowl right into the batsmen’s arc leaving them no choice but to dispatch it. The drop catch of Odean Smith along with the other factors cost them the match against PBKS.

Against KKR they were all over their batting lineup but with Shahbaz bowling poor balls to Russell and conceding 30 to their tail-enders with multiple boundaries off the edge of the bat RCB had turned a potential 100-run score into a 129 target which almost cost them the match.

Having put a tight hold on RR, RCB had increased their target with 2 horrendous last overs. Wrong line and lengths along with a no-ball meant that RR had put 20 more runs on the board which really put RCB under pressure before DK came and solved the issue.

RCB had the players to win all these games with their planning but by gifting 20-30 runs every single game so far I just cannot see them making the playoff if this reckless bowling form continues. This is in no way a dig at the captaincy or the skill level of the bowlers as they have been able to bowl good deliveries but careless behaviour is the main problem they need to work on.

Key Matchups

Dream11 Team