Coming to think of it, it’s actually not that difficult to be in the Royal Challengers Bangalore dugout. Among all eight franchises, none have a clearer to-do list than Virat Kohli’s men when it comes to making it to the play-offs of IPL 2019. All they have got to do is win all their remaining matches, 7 of them to be precise. Of course it is easier said than done but at least they got off the mark when their series of must-win matches began a night ago against Kings XI Punjab, registering their first victory of the season to keep the play-offs hopes alive. On Monday, the Men-in-Red would look to repeat the same against three-time champions Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
Mumbai of course are no strangers to faulty beginnings and precisely why they would be more wary of this RCB side, who are yet to bring their A game to the table.
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“We know what we have to do. We have to win a lot of games of cricket. The next step is Mumbai, the Wankhede stadium. We love playing cricket there,” AB de Villiers, the Player of the Match in RCB’s 8-wicket win against KXIP on Saturday said on the eve of their crucial encounter against Mumbai Indians.
Despite losing six games on the trot, RCB Interestingly, have not panicked and made wholesome changes to their playing XI, which is rather common in IPL when the results are not going your way. By and large they have been pretty content in giving their players a longer run, whether that was the correct decision or not is a different discussion altogether.
Things are expected to remain the same in their match-up against Mumbai Indians. While the chances of RCB retaining their winning combination are high, one cannot rule out the inclusion of Dale Steyn, especially keeping the fast Wankhede track in mind. The fact that Kohli went in with only three overseas cricketers in their last game against KXIP, makes Steyn’s case stronger. The South African great, who was drafted into the RCB squad as a replacement of the injured Nathan Coulter-Nile, can come into the side in place of Mohammed Siraj, who has been rather lucky to still hold onto his position in the playing XI despite leaking runs at an economy rate of 9.47 – the most he has given in his three-season long IPL career.
{{/usCountry}}Things are expected to remain the same in their match-up against Mumbai Indians. While the chances of RCB retaining their winning combination are high, one cannot rule out the inclusion of Dale Steyn, especially keeping the fast Wankhede track in mind. The fact that Kohli went in with only three overseas cricketers in their last game against KXIP, makes Steyn’s case stronger. The South African great, who was drafted into the RCB squad as a replacement of the injured Nathan Coulter-Nile, can come into the side in place of Mohammed Siraj, who has been rather lucky to still hold onto his position in the playing XI despite leaking runs at an economy rate of 9.47 – the most he has given in his three-season long IPL career.
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The batting line-up is expected to be same with Parthiv Patel, Kohli taking the opener’s slot, followed by AB de Villiers and Marcus Stoinis. The Australian all-rounder’s responsible knock in the last game against KXIP is sure to solve Kohli’s middle-order woes.
Umesh Yadav, who replaced Tim Southee in the last match, is also certain to retain his place in the side.
Predicted XI: Parthiv Patel (wk), Virat Kohli (c), AB de Villiers, Marcus Stoinis, Moeen Ali, Akshdeep Nath, Pawan Negi, Umesh Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Navdeep Saini, Dale Steyn.