Two-time defending champions Mumbai Indians (MI) started the second half of IPL 2021 fourth in the points table but have now slipped to sixth, following two back-to-back losses. While they enjoyed the upper hand for a large part of the game against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK), the side was outplayed in all departments by a resurgent Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). The franchise continues to sweat over star all-rounder Hardik Pandya's fitness, who is not being rushed to playing XI. His brother, however, has been absolutely unproductive with the ball and the bat and that has hurt the MI lower middle-order. Will he be retained? Will Hardik finally come back? Who could replace Krunal, if need be? Let's try and answer some questions. (IPL 2021 Full coverage)
Here's our MI predicted XI against RCB:
1) Rohit Sharma (C): The Mumbai Indians captain returned to the side against KKR after missing the first game of IPL phase II due to inadequate match fitness. He scored an impressive 33 and looked very good in the powerplay.
2) Quinton de Kock (WK): The South Africa wicketkeeper-batsman smashed a fluent half-century against KKR and looked a million dollars before he was trapped in front by Deepak Chahar against CSK. Once again, MI will heavily bank on the start he provides and his partnership with the skipper.
3) Suryakumar Yadav: Some experts say that MI is at times over-reliant on the middle-order batsman and that's as good a compliment as one can get. Everyone knows what SKY is capable of and his ability to score runs off good balls is a rare talent. He may not have fired so far but RCB will be wary of this threat.
4) Ishan Kishan: The explosive wicket-keeper batsman packs a punch. He may not be as bulky and tall as some of his teammates but the Jharkhand batsman can hit the ball as far as the other big guys. He is likely to retain his place.
5) Kieron Pollard: You just never know with the legend of Kieron Pollard. The big-hitting West Indies all-rounder is unstoppable when he gets going and is known for his brief yet effective spells in the middle-order. Another likely starter on Sunday.
6) Hardik Pandya/Saurabh Tiwary: The equation is simple. If Hardik is fit, he plays and Saurabh misses out. If Hardik is not, then Tiwary plays. The anxious wait surrounding the Baroda all-rounder is doing MI any good and by the looks of it, his return is much needed for the five-time champions
7) Jayant Yadav: The second change that Rohit would be tempted to make would be to bring the Indian spinner in place of Krunal, who hasn't done much either with bat or ball.
8) Adam Milne: He was excellent with his express pace and wicket-taking deliveries against CSK but couldn't cause the same damage to KKR. But MI is back in Dubai, the same venue as the first match and Milne will definitely be in the game.
9) Trent Boult: The previous game against KKR was one of the rare occasions where Boult didn't pick up a wicket in the Powerplay. In fact, he went wicketless, which was another rarity. But one can't count him out because of one poor day at the office.
10) Rahul Chahar: A skillful leg-spinner who not picks wickets but also manages to stem the run-flow. He may not have picked up a wicket in the previous game but he is still one of the top wicket-takers in IPL 2021.
11) Jasprit Bumrah: With a three-wicket haul, he was the only MI bowler to take a wicket in the previous game. He continues to remain an indispensable member of Mumbai.
Here is a look at MI's Predicted XI vs RCB: Rohit Sharma (C), Quinton de Kock (WK), Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Kieron Pollard, Hardik Pandya, Jayant Yadav, Adam Milne, Trent Boult, Rahul Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah