Follow UsRoyal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) will take on Mumbai Indians (MI) in Match 18 of IPL 2022. The history is biased towards Mumbai but that matters little. In this edition, the five-time champions have struggled thus far and they are yet to get off the mark. On the other hand, various things have clicked for Bangalore that has notched them 4 points in their first three games. With Glenn Maxwell back, the men in red will be more confident.
Player Availability
As mentioned above, Glenn Maxwell will be available for selection and will most probably walk in the XI, replacing Sherfane Rutherford.
Team Combination and Ground Details
The MCA track in Pune is an interesting venue. Going against the trend of the competition, the first two games here were won by the side batting first. In the third game, however, a different strip offered a sticky wicket. Pat Cummins’ heroics raced Kolkata to a win chasing the target.
We don’t know which track will be used for Match 18. But in the recent past, Pune has been a decent batting track. Although only four T20s have been played here since 2019, the average first innings score is 181. The same for the second innings sits at 148. It is one of the few venues in India, where teams need to move beyond the popular perception and bat first in order to maximize the advantage.
Like most venues in T20s, pacers have the maximum advantage here, having picked 63.7 % of wickets while spinners have accounted for only 36.3% of wickets. However, the sticky wicket used in the KKR-MI match clearly had a lot of help for the spinners. Hence, an eye on the pitch report will be important. But both sides have created an impact with their spinners which leans us towards maintaining a combination of pacers and tweakers in our XI.
Team Suggestion
The team we've picked has a good mix of world-class batters and bowlers. But remember, while you could go for the above team, you also have the option of choosing your team from Cricket.com’s Fantasy Research Centre. You can use this tool to build your team with the help of algorithms. Then, based on your preferences, the platform will guide you through creating the ideal fantasy XI.
Captain Selection
Harshal Patel has been a massive tick in Bangalore’s bowling armory ever since his comeback to the franchise last year. The right-armer has continued from where he left last season, delivering crucial overs in the second half of the innings. He is hard to hit which invariably brings him wickets.
Harshal also has a terrific record against Mumbai, averaging 12.9 for his 18 wickets in 10 games against the five-time champions. 9 of these wickets came last season itself. Harshal picked a five-wicket haul in the season opener and then derailed Mumbai in the second meeting with a hat-trick.
Our Criclytics Player Projector predicts Harshal to pick 0-1 wickets in this match
X-Factors
Only 19 years old, Tilak Varma has relished his time in his debut IPL season. He has piled up 121 runs at an average of 60.5 while also maintaining a good strike-rate. He has showcased all strokes to be successful at this level and make a telling difference to your fantasy fortunes.
Shahbaz Ahmed has been another success story for Bangalore. His bowling opportunities have been restricted but the southpaw has made a difference with the bat this season. In the last games, he has played handy knocks of 45 and 27. On both occasions, Ahmed absorbed pressure and displayed judicious strokeplay to clear the ropes. Against Mumbai, he might be sued with the ball too since their middle-order contains only left-hander: Tilak Varma.
Here are the top-10 picks as per Criclytics projected points-
Match-Ups
It is certainly an exciting match-up. Jasprit Bumrah has got Glenn Maxwell five times in IPL. The latter is a crucial cog in Bangalore’s line-up and Bumrah, who has often bowled to the opposition’s X-factor batsman in the middle-order will certainly be lined up against the Australian batter.
Probable XIs
Royal Challengers Bangalore: Faf du Plessis (c), Anuj Rawat, Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell, Shahbaz Ahmed, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Wanindu Hasaranga, Harshal Patel, David Willey, Mohammad Siraj, Akash Deep
Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma (c), Ishan Kishan (wk), Dewald Brevis, Suryakumar Yadav, tilak Varma, Kieron Pollard, Daniel Sams, Murugan Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Tymal Mills, Basil Thampi