The Mumbai Indians (MI) will take on Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the match 36 of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2013 at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai on Saturday. It will be their second meeting this season.
Overview:
It will be a clash between two teams that have scored highest totals this season. MI posted a total of 209 against Delhi Daredevils in their earlier meeting before RCB overtook it by scoring 263 against Pune Warriors India. RCB defeated MI by two runs in a thriller in the second match of the season.
MI are placed in the sixth position of the table with eight points after winning four of the seven matches played so far. They defeated Kolkata Knight Riders by five wickets in the previous match. They will be keen to keep the momentum and improve their ranking.
RCB are on a roll, winning the last three matches, two of them with huge margin. They are on top of the table with 12 points after winning six of the eight games played so far. They beat the Pune Warriors India by 130 runs in the previous, and it will boost their confidence when they take on MI on Saturday.
Previous Meetings:
MI and RCB have met 12 times in the past and they have won six matches each. However, RCB defeated MI by two runs in their earlier meeting this season.
Team News:
Mumbai Indians: Skipper Ricky Ponting, who is in bad form this season, was dropped in the last match, letting Rohit Sharma to lead the team. Sachin Tendulkar's form is in question, as he scored just two runs in the previous match after scoring a half century. It was Dwayne Smith (62), Rohit Sharma (34), and Kieron Pollard (33) who helped the team chase down KKR's total of 159 in the previous match. The in-form Dinesh Karthik failed with his bat in the last couple of games but he is expected to bounce back.
Lasith Malinga, Mitchell Johnson, Pragyan Ojha took two wickets apiece in the previous match against KKR. They also have Harbhajan Singh, Munaf Patel, Kieron Pollard, Jasprit Bumrah and Rishi Dhawan in the bowling attack.
Royal Challengers Bangalore: The top-order of RCB - Chris Gayle, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Virat Kohli and Ab De Villiers - could intimidate their opponent, as they are not only explosive but also sensible batsmen. Gayle smashed 175 from just 66 balls, while Dilshan marked his return with a well-crafted 33, and Villiers fired 31 from just eight balls in the previous match. Kohli is in good form, and Saurabh Tiwary too can hit big, thus making the team a formidable one. Their top order is expected to fire in the match against MI too.
On the bowling front, they have Vinay Kumar, RP Singh, Jaydev Unadkat, Ravi Rampaul, Murali Kartik and Muttiah Muralidaran at their disposal. They took nine wickets in the previous match, which was a good effort. They will be expected to take early wickets and restreict MI to score at will.
Prediction:
MI are a well-balanced side and have good record at home, winning two matches played at their home ground this season. They will be looking forward to take revenge on RCB, who defeated them by two runs at Bangalore. However, RCB have turned into a fierce team, winning the last two matches with huge margin. RCB are favourite to win on Saturday.
SQUADS:
Mumbai Indians: Ricky Ponting (captain), Abu Nechim Ahmed, Akshar Patel, Aditya Tare, Aiden Blizzard, Ambati Rayudu, Amitoze Singh, Dhawal Kulkarni, Dinesh Karthik, Dwayne Smith, Glenn Maxwell, Harbhajan Singh, Jacob Oram, Jalaj Saxena, James Franklin, Jasprit Bumrah, Kieron Pollard, Lasith Malinga, Mitchell Johnson, Munaf Patel, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Phil Hughes, Pawan Suyal, Pragyan Ojha, Rishi Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Sachin Tendulkar, Suryakumar Yadav, Sushant Marathe, Yuzvendra Singh Chahal
Royal Challengers Bangalore: Virat Kohli (captain), AB De Villiers, Abhimanyu Mithun, Abhinav Mukund, Andrew McDonald, Arun Karthik, Cheteshwar Pujara, Chris Gayle, Christopher Barnwell, Daniel Christian, Daniel Vettori, Harshal Patel, Jaidev Unadkat, K P Appanna, Karun Nair, Mayank Agarwal, Moises Henriques, Murali Kartik, Muttiah Muralitharan, Pankaj Singh, Prasanth Parameswaran, R Vinay Kumar, Ravi Rampaul, Rudra Pratap Singh, S Aravind, Sandeep Warrier, Saurabh Tiwary, Sheldon Jackson, Sunny Sohal, Syed Mohammad, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Vijay Zol, Zaheer Khan
Where to Watch Live
The match will begin at 8:00 pm IST and will be telecast live on Sony Set Max channel.
