Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore. It comes as no surprise that there will be a packed house on Tuesday night because Bangalore has been one of the most eagerly anticipated games of the IPL 2023 at the Wankhede. According to popularity rankings, the big game would rank as the second-most anticipated game of the city’s season, behind only the game versus Chennai Super Kings, which has already been held.
The star-studded contest takes on further significance because both teams are level on the points board. There is no doubt that the match will reach the levels of intensity anticipated at the business end of the game. Both would be attempting to escape the tangle in the middle of the table.
The hosts, Mumbai Indians, are facing some worrying questions on the eve of the game, including needless scrutiny of Rohit Sharma. The immediate topic of discussion was the captain’s ongoing season-long bad performance, briefly setting aside the longer-term, more significant tasks, like the World Test Championship and the World Cup.
His 184 runs in 10 games and 40th place on the IPL 2023 top scorers list are insufficient for the batter he has become. More noticeably, in 33 IPL games, he has only two half-centuries. Only two scores of over 50 runs were recorded in the previous three IPL seasons, according to further analysis.
It is believed that the skipper’s continued bad play may be having an impact on his leadership, and not too long ago, none other than Sunil Gavaskar advocated for him to take a sabbatical. Rohit shifted his batting order from the top of the lineup and moved down to No. 3 in the previous game, so he hasn’t exactly heeded that advice. Nevertheless, with very little success.
When the captain is content, the entire team is content, and Rohit’s performance may be contributing to MI’s sixth-place finish in the points standings with 10 points after 10 games. For a franchise that has won the IPL five times, that is a perilous situation. However, the team insisted that it is entirely behind the erratic captain.
“Absolutely not (concerning his physique). We truly support Rohit, who is a legend, particularly in Mumbai, and for everything he has accomplished in his career. He might take that form at any time,” Cameron Green, who opened in place of Rohit in the previous game, said of the troubled captain, “He has batted beautifully in a few games, showing really good tempo at the top, so we are absolutely backing him. “The beleaguered captain would know that he needs to fire for the franchise on Tuesday night to win the crucial game and move up in the points table.
Royal Challengers Bangalore, like MI, is coming off a loss, although they may have a minor advantage over the home squad. With crucial batsmen Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis among the runs and Mahipal Lomror joining the party, RCB might be in a good spot. Dinesh Karthik and Maxwell are expected to provide more substantive contributions.
Josh Hazlewood, who works well with Mohammed Siraj and Wanindu Hasaranga, who have so far performed well for the franchise, gives them bowling some extra firepower. However, because of the Impact Player rule, this season has generally been one for the batsmen, and the bowlers are frequently punished. Tuesday night’s screenplay is unlikely to change.
The same was true for Kedar Jadhav. Teams and players are now braver and more fearless as a result of the impact player rule. They have an additional batter as a safety net, so they are certainly expressing more, and there are more totals above 200 than 180,” the newest player to join RCB noted on the day of the match.
When: May 9 at 19:30 IST on Tuesday.
Where: Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium
What to expect: Strikers typically benefit from the bounce on offer, however, players like Josh Hazlewood might also find something to their liking. The batters are likely to be excited about the prospect of the weather as well as the size of the ground because the field has already witnessed numerous high-scoring games this season.
Teams:
Mumbai Indians
The last time these two teams faced off this season, RCB’s openers took down Jofra Archer, but it is still a match-up, especially against Faf du Plessis, whom he has dismissed twice in 22 balls. Glenn Maxwell vs. Piyush Chawla would be the other contest. The Wankhede conditions may be more conducive to the latter’s style of play despite his so far low single-digit scores in away games. There may or may not be pyrotechnics in the case against Chawla. He’s gone out of the game three times in 36 balls, but his strike rate against the spinner is 150.
Team news: Tilak Varma, a key batsman for Mumbai this season, is anticipated to play after missing the most recent match against CSK. The key question is whether Rohit will bat first or at No. 3 like in the previous game.
Ishan Kishan, Cameron Green, Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Tim David, Nehal Wadhera, Jofra Archer, Piyush Chawla, Kumar Kartikeya, and Arshad Khan make up the probable starting XI.
Royal Challengers Bangalore
Strategies and matchups: Fad and Kohli have combined for nine fifty-plus scores at Wankhede, and they enter this contest on a roll. They might be the subject of an early MI spin attack from Chawla. Given that the bowler has struck him three times in 22 balls, RCB may be considering the Harshal vs. Rohit match-up with the ball. They would also be hoping that Hasaranga would show up in the location where he previously scored a five-fer.
A batsman may replace Karn Sharma in the RCB lineup, or he may enter as an impact player, according to team news. Kedar Jadhav, a late addition to the Bengaluru team, ought likely to keep his spot in the starting lineup.
The following players are included in the probable lineup: Faf du Plessis, Virat Kohli, Mahipal Lomror, Glenn Maxwell, Suyash Prabhudesai/Anuj Rawat, Kedar Jadhav, Dinesh Karthik, Wanindu Hasaranga, Harshal Patel, Josh Hazlewood, and Mohammad Siraj.
