RCB vs MI: Royal Challengers Bangalore’s predicted XI

Here’s the likely Royal Challengers Bangalore playing XI against Mumbai Indians for Thursday’s match in Bengaluru

Royal Challengers Bangalore began their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2019 campaign in the worst possible fashion, folding up for a mere 70 runs in the 18th over against Chennai Super Kings. The Chennai outfit then completed the task with a comprehensive seven-wicket win.

Here’s the likely Royal Challengers Bangalore playing XI against Mumbai Indians for Thursday’s match in Bengaluru (PTI)

RCB will need dramatic improvement in their fortunes if they are to challenge Mumbai Indians in their second match.

The Mumbai outfit also began their campaign with a loss but they gave a much better account of themselves in defeat to Delhi Capitals than what RCB managed against CSK.

Here’s the likely Royal Challengers Bangalore playing XI against Mumbai Indians:

Virat Kohli

The RCB captain failed to get going against CSK, scoring just six runs off the 12 balls he faced. Having received criticism about his captaincy and a rare failure with the bat, Kohli will be eager to grab the Mumbai Indians game by the scruff its neck.

Parthiv Patel

As the rest of the batting collapsed around him, Patel waged a lone battle at the other end against CSK. He prodded along to 29 off 35 deliveries and was the last man out, missing out on a rare feat of carrying the bat in a T20 innings. He will be happier with better support at the other end against MI.

Moeen Ali

The England all-rounder returned good figures of 4-0-19-1 with the ball but RCB will be looking for a sparkling performance with Ali’s bat as well.

AB de Villiers

One of modern day greats of the game, De Villiers struggled with the uneven bounce of the Chennai pitch and succumbed to a sweep shot. Now at their home turf in Bengaluru, the South African maverick will be eager to go all guns blazing.

Shimron Hetmyer

Hetmyer had a horror show in Chennai. Facing his second ball, the West Indies international pushed it straight to Suresh Raina and sprinted for a non-existent single. He didn’t even bother trying to get back. He is a destructive bastman and will be eager to prove his credentials after the CSK debacle.

Shivam Dube

Dube came into the limelight around the time of last year’s auctions with some smashing innings. It helped him secure a big-money contract and he will need to show that his heroics at the domestic level are transferable on the vaunted IPL stage.

Colin de Grandomme

The Kiwi all-rounder was only used with the bat, where he came a cropper, like a majority of his teammates. However, he showed himself to be in good nick during recent New Zealand internationals and RCB will hope his failure against CSK was only due to the poor pitch.

Washington Sundar

Sundar didn’t get a game in RCB’s opener. The bowling all-rounder enjoyed a good spell two years ago with Rising Pune Supergiants and will be keen for a repeat with the Bengaluru outfit.

Umesh Yadav

Yadav returned good figures of 3-0-13-0 against CSK, but it would be disingenuous to judge him on a pitch where batsmen found it difficult to get going.

Yuzvendra Chahal

Chahal returned Test-like figures of 4-1-6-1 in the CSK match. The pitch did assist spinners, but still Chahal’s figures are stupendous nonetheless. He will be eager for more of the same on RCB’s home turf.

Mohammad Siraj

Siraj has express pace and it can be handy on pitches that do not provide any kind of assistance to bowlers. He can be a good option if he sticks to the basics.