That time of IPL where Mumbai Indians go on a winning run?

Mumbai Indians have always been slow starters in the Indian Premier League (IPL), but once they get that win, they have a history of going on a run. That’s what Hardik Pandya and Co. would be hoping after defeating Delhi Capitals in their previous encounter. The MI batters showed their might and amassed a total of 234, which helped them get their first win of the IPL 2024.

They are still 1-3 after four games and are now set to take on Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the Wankhede Stadium on April 11 (Thursday). RCB have also won just one match but have lost four and a couple of more defeats would put them in a “win-every-game” situation. Virat Kohli is the only one in the top-five scoring runs, while their bowling has also been terrible, like always.

Bengaluru will have to step up big time if they want to compete with MI at their home.

MI vs RCB Head-to-Head 

Overall - Games 32 | MI 18 | RCB 14

In Mumbai - Games 10 | MI 7 | RCB 3

Venue details

Wankhede has always been a batting-friendly venue. There are always runs on offer, if you don’t lose too many wickets in the powerplay. The balls tends to move a bit in the first few overs and we saw how Rajasthan Royals’ Trent Boult and Nandre Burger made full use of it. MI lost four wickets inside four overs and ended up with a score of just 125. 

In the next match against Delhi, they didn’t lose early wickets and ended up scoring 235. In response, Delhi too got to 205, which tells you how good those conditions are for batting. Opponents often prefer to field first but you are always in the game once you get that big total on the board. 

Weather forecast

We are sure to have a full game in Mumbai. The temperature is expected to be around 30 degree Celsius. And the humidity will be in the range of 65-75%.

Things to watch out for

Time to bring in Will Jacks?

RCB’s batting has been highly dependent on Kohli, as the ace batter has scored more than 36% of the runs for his team – highest for a batter this season till now. While the opener has already scored two fifties and a ton this season, none of the other RCB batters have crossed the 50-run mark. Faf du Plessis scored 44 in the last match but is still averaging only 21.80. Meanwhile, Rajat Patidar, Cameron Green and Glenn Maxwell have all been averaging less than 20 and striking at less than 110.

Maxwell (365 runs @ 36.5) and Green (229 @ 76.33) have a superb record at Wankhede but going by their current form, there is no guarantee that they will do well against Mumbai. Hence, RCB could bring in someone like Will Jacks who has been in good form. Since 2023, the all-rounder from England is averaging 30.73 and has a strike rate of 165.9. He scores at a rapid pace, something RCB haven't been able to do this season. On top of that, he can easily give them a couple of overs of off-spin. 

After all, there is no harm in trying, especially if the big names are not delivering. 

Rohit’s ultra-aggressive approach

Mumbai (10.4) are one of the three teams with a scoring rate of more than 10 in the powerplay this season and Rohit Sharma has played a major role in that. The former MI skipper has slammed 99 runs in the powerplay at a strike rate of 190.4 and an average of 49.5. 

Amongst batters who have got at least 50 runs in this phase, his SR is the fourth best. Last season, those numbers for Rohit were 131 and 21.5 respectively. Rohit will now be up against a bowling attack that has struggled this season and would want to maximise the first six overs once again. 

Probable XIs

MI - Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan (wk), Suryakumar Yadav (IP), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya (c), Tim David, Mohammad Nabi, Romario Shepherd, Shams Mulani/Kumar Kartikeya/Shreyas Gopal, Gerald Coetzee, Jasprit Bumrah, Akash Madhwal (IP)

RCB - Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis (c), Rajat Patidar (IP), Glenn Maxwell, Cameron Green/Will Jacks, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Saurav Chauhan/Mahipal Lomror, Reece Topley, Mayank Dagar, Mohammed Siraj, Yash Dayal, Vijaykumar Vyshak (IP)

Telecast and streaming details

The match will be live on Star Sports Network and live-streamed on Jio Cinema. The game will start at 7:30 PM, with the toss happening at 7 PM.