RCB’s XI in focus for the curtain-raiser against Mumbai

The only disadvantage of winning the IPL is that the champions have to play the first game of the next season. A prospect that Mumbai Indians, in particular, do not fancy. Since they won their first title in 2013, MI have lost all four season openers. 

It was only a few months back when MI went out to play Chennai in the opening game of the 2020 season. CSK registered a comfortable win then but the trajectories for the two teams diverged from then on. MI begin the 2021 season against the Royal Challengers Bangalore in a clash that is all set to supersede the MI-CSK rivalry as we approach the twilight years of Chennai’s old guard.

Opening game blues is not the only factor working against the defending champions. As we pointed out in our preview, MI do not have a formidable spin attack. While their pacers carried the team to a title last year, their spinners recorded the worst balls per wicket record of 30.05. On the other hand, RCB spinners emerged the best on economy and balls per wicket. Under normal circumstances, this should not have been an issue. But, with teams playing their games on neutral venues, the situation gets tricky for MI as they play their first five games in Chennai, a venue that has been a spinner’s delight.

Having said that, MI have not lost an IPL game at Chepauk since the start of the 2012 season. It will be interesting to see if their pacers can overcome the guile of RCB spinners to keep that record intact.

Who will replace Quinton De Kock?

Another headache for MI is the unavailability of Quinton de Kock for the opening fixture. Arriving on 5th April from South Africa after playing the first two ODIs against Pakistan, de Kock will have to undergo a week’s quarantine before he can join the squad.

MI have a readymade option in Chris Lynn to take de Kock’s position. MI bought Lynn before the 2020 season but he has not played a game for them yet. Another option is to have Ishan Kishan open the innings. Surprising one and all, Kishan had a career-defining season in 2020 scoring 516 runs. He topped the six-hitting charts with 30 maximums. While he played most of the matches batting at four, Kishan batted a notch better while opening, averaging 101 in four innings and maintaining a strike rate of 145.3.

Opening with Kishan will also open another slot for a foreign pace-bowling all-rounder. They can fill it by including both Nathan Coulter-Nile and Marco Jansen who will lengthen the batting line-up. MI must calibrate their bowling unit early in the tournament to prepare themselves for challenging venues.

Since IPL 2018, both Rohit Sharma and Lynn have a strike rate of 95 against spin in the first 10 balls. This is another reason why including Lynn on the Chennai wicket might not be a prudent option. RCB have enough spin options to deploy spin straightaway. Washington Sundar is a Powerplay specialist anyway. 

MI have an enviable batting line-up. But, choking them with off-spin is something that RCB are sure to try. 

In the 2020 season, most of their batsmen struggled to break free against off-spinners. Apart from Sundar, RCB also have the services of Glenn Maxwell to unleash against the mighty MI. But, numbers can be deceptive. If we look back to the 2018 and 2019 season, Rohit was doing fine with a strike rate of 141.6 against off-spin while Hardik Pandya was brutal, striking at 200. RCB will hope that the trend that began in 2020, continues.

All eyes on RCB’s XI

RCB chose to give their squad an overhaul for this season. Now with so many new faces in the mix, it will be interesting to see the XI that they put on the field. Virat Kohli has already made it public that he will be opening this year. As Devdutt Padikkal has recovered and joined the squad after a bout with COVID, he will be joining his skipper at the top.

The guesswork starts after that. RCB bought Maxwell to shoulder the burden of AB de Villiers in the middle-order. They romped in Sachin Baby as there was a demand from the leadership group of a left-hander in the middle-order. But since the auction, Sundar has impressed one and all with his stroke-play and deserves a bigger role with the bat. 

RCB also have Mohammed Azharudeen who impressed with a century against Mumbai in the latest edition of Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy but, is also a capable batsman in the lower middle-order. Moreover, he is a keeper who can relieve de Villiers from that responsibility to show his superhuman capabilities in the field. With so many options, it will be interesting to see who walks in at three for RCB. The decision might vary depending on who among the opener gets out.   

MI are perhaps the best T20 side in the world at the moment and are the favourites to lift the trophy this year as well. It makes for a good viewing if a side like Mumbai start with a few odds stacked against them.

Probable XIs

MI – Rohit Sharma (c), Ishan Kishan (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Kieron Pollard, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Marco Jansen/ Adam Milne, Rahul Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult

RCB – Devdutt Padikkal, Virat Kohli (c), AB de Villiers, Glenn Maxwell, Washington Sundar, Mohammed Azharuddeen (wk), Kyle Jamieson, Kane Richardson, Navdeep Saini, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal