Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Mumbai Indians: Five must-dos for Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli’s return for the game against Mumbai Indians in the 2017 Indian Premier League will boost Royal Challengers Bangalore, but they must ensure that they get some things right if they have to maintain a consistent winning habit.

India captain Virat Kohli has completely recovered from the shoulder injury that kept him out of the last Test against Australia and the first three games of the Indian Premier League. As Kohli gets back to business and makes a comeback to the league where he scored 973 runs last season, HT looks at a few things his inclusion can do to revive Royal Challengers Bangalore’s fortunes who have lost two of their three games so far. (IPL 2017 full coverage)

Virat Kohli was the difference-maker in the 2016 Indian Premier League in which he slammed 973 runs, including four centuries. (PTI)

Virat Kohli comeback backed by huge number of runs

The Royal Challengers Bangalore fans, and fans of cricket, will want to see Kohli make a grand comeback with a flurry of runs; something that he did consistently in the 2016 season barring the Australia series where he had a lean run. His magnificent form makes this return highly anticipated and a repeat of those performances could see RCB get back to winning ways on a consistent basis.

Virat Kohli’s pro-active captaincy a boost for RCB

There’s something special with it comes to captaincy and Kohli. He believes in leading from the front. RCB will be banking on his captaincy skills; given that things did not go as per plan during stand-in skipper Shane Watson’s tenure. With plenty of runs in the previous season, Kohli has the freedom to experiment a few things. His pro-active captaincy, combined with the presence of batsmen like Chris Gayle, AB de Villiers, will be huge positive in the RCB camp.

Virat Kohli’s hyper-aggression intimidating

Kohli is hyper-aggressive and this has gotten him into trouble sometimes. However, this is key factor that charges up his side and turns then into an aggressive hunting pack; ready to intimidate opponents and push their limits to win games.

Chris Gayle’s presence at the top of the order will ensure Virat Kohli has the perfect mix of aggression in the Royal Challengers Bangalore team. (Hindustan Times)

Get back Chris Gayle, sort out foreign combination

Chris Gayle was left out in the game against Kings XI Punjab. Stuart Binny, speaking in the post-match press conference, said that they had no choice but to drop Gayle. The muddled approach under Watson hurt RCB badly against KXIP. Under Kohli’s aggression and impact, this will change. He might go for Gayle at the top and get Watson to bat at No.3. With de Villiers in the middle, Tymal Mills could be the only foreign bowler in the line-up.

Good top order start, more comfort for AB de Villiers

AB de Villiers is titled Mr.360 for his audacious batting. Kohli and Gayle have the ability to demoralise opposition, but de Villiers has the ability to deflate the opponents completely. His comeback knock of 89 off 46 balls against Kings XI Punjab showed the impact that he has at the death overs and if the top order starts well, then de Villiers’ flourish at the end could be fatal for the opposition.