Follow UsMumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore didn’t have a great Saturday, but what transpired on Sunday would have given them a bit of relief, and more importantly: hope. The two franchises lost their respective encounters and failed to break away from that 10-point horde of five teams, but with Lucknow Super Giants and Rajasthan Royals suffering defeats on Sunday, Mumbai and Bangalore now have a chance to reignite their campaign.
We have reached that stage of the tournament where almost every single result will have a major impact on the qualification scenarios. Gujarat Titans are all but through to the playoffs but the other three spots are still up for grabs. The good thing for Bangalore and Mumbai is that their fortunes are still in their own hands, but will have to win at least three of their remaining four games to progress further.
Things to watch out for
MI getting nothing from Rohit, Archer
Honestly, on their current form, Rohit Sharma and Jofra Archer don’t deserve a spot in the Mumbai playing XI. The former is the most successful captain in the history of IPL but his batting numbers have been very mediocre since 2017. This year, he has been even more terrible with the bat. The average of 18.4 is his worst in an IPL season. Last year, it was 19.14.
The 36-year-old had decent numbers in the first six games (179 runs @ 29.8 and an SR of 142) but since then, has managed only five runs in four innings. The right-hander has got back-to-back ducks in the last two games and has now a total of 16 ducks in IPL, which is the most for a batter. Only twice in 10 innings has Rohit managed to cross the powerplay phase. He has been dismissed the joint-most times (8) in the first six overs in IPL 2023.
Rohit has done well against spin, scoring at an average of 38.5 and a strike rate of 167, but his record against pace has been beyond terrible - 107 runs with eight dismissals. In fact, he has the lowest average (13.4) and strike rate (108) for a batter against pace (minimum 100 runs) in IPL 2023. He even demoted himself in the previous game against Chennai and asked in-form Cameron Green to open the innings. The ploy didn’t work out but don’t be surprised if he does the same against RCB.
Then you have someone like Archer, on whom MI invested eight crores despite his unavailability last season, but the paceman still doesn’t look fully fit and has an economy of 9.5 in five games he has played this season. Plagued with injuries and inconsistent outings, Archer has just two wickets and has been expensive across all three phases.
Rohit’s poor batting form hasn’t hurt Mumbai a lot because other batters have been doing well but the same can’t be said for Archer. MI already had a weak bowling line-up but Archer’s form has made things even more difficult for the team management. Mumbai have been one of the worst sides in the bowling department, with Piyush Chawla being the lone performer. They have the second-worst bowling average (54.9) in the powerplay and the worst ER (12.4) at the death. So, there are plenty of concerns.
Faf not getting the right support
Bangalore’s entire batting unit revolves around Faf du Plessis, Virat Kohli and Glenn Maxwell. The former is not only the leading run-getter (511 runs @ 56.78) in the competition but has done that at a strike rate of 157.7. He also has the most number of sixes (29) this season. What’s more, amongst batters who have faced at least 75 balls in the powerplay, the Proteas star has the best strike rate (169).
The problem, however, for RCB is what Kohli and Maxwell have been doing of late. Kohli got 214 runs @ 71.33 and a strike rate of 147.6 in the first four innings but that SR has dropped to 124.2 in the last six games. The runs are still coming but his strike rate has taken a significant hit. If you talk about the last two games, Kohli has taken 76 deliveries to score 86 runs. It was his 46-ball 55 that arguably cost RCB the game in Delhi.
Maxwell’s form will also be a bit of a concern for Bangalore. The right-handed dasher from Australia is averaging just 17.2 in the last five encounters. He did slam a 77 against Rajasthan but has managed only nine runs in the other four innings. Moreover, he has a horrible record at away venues this season - just nine runs in four matches. However, he has done well at the Wankhede (297 runs in 10 T20s at an SR of 173) and it’s a venue that will suit his attacking batting style.
Ground details
The Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai has always been a high-scoring venue and this year has been no different. In IPL 2023, the batters here have scored runs at an average of 32.5, which is the best amongst all the 11 venues used this season. The scoring rate of 9.8 is also the second-best, while a wicket has fallen every 19.8 deliveries.
When it comes to the bowling department, spinners here have way better numbers than fast bowlers. The tweakers have operated at an average of 25.8 and an economy of 7.9, also picking up a wicket every 19.5 deliveries. However, the corresponding numbers for seamers are 38.1, 11 and 20.8 respectively.
Three of the four games have been won by the side batting second. In the last two encounters, 200 have been breached in all four innings.
Tactical nous
Mumbai could attack Kohli and Maxwell with a lot of spin. There’s nothing new to write about Kohli’s strike rate against spin, with him having operated at 109 against them this year. That strike rate, however, goes up to 160 vs pace. With Maxwell, it’s a high-risk-high-award approach. He has a strike rate of 162.03 against spin but has also got out to them seven times in eight innings. His average against spin reads 18.29.
Mohammed Siraj was taken to the cleaners in the previous game but the right-arm paceman has been superb in this edition. 15 wickets at a strike rate of 14.8 and an economy of 7.7 are impressive numbers, but Siraj doesn’t have a great record against SKY. The right-handed batter has 48 runs against him at a strike rate of 218 and has been dismissed only once.
Probable XIs
Mumbai Indians - Rohit Sharma (c), Ishan Kishan (wk), Cameron Green, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma (subject to fitness), Tim David, Nehal Wadhera (IS), Jofra Archer, Piyush Chawla, Raghav Goyal (IS), Akash Madhwal, Jason Behrendorff.
Royal Challengers Bangalore - Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis (c), Anuj Rawat, Glenn Maxwell, Mahipal Lomror, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Kedar Jadhav (IS), Shahbaz Ahmed, Wanindu Hasaranga, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Siraj (IS), Josh Hazlewood.
(IS - Impact Sub)