IPL 2018: 3 key battles that will decide who wins the MI vs RCB clash

Defending Champions Mumbai Indians will try to get their first points of the IPL season when they host Royal Challengers Bangalore at the Wankhede Stadium. The Rohit Sharma-led team has wobbled at key moments during this year's IPL, and have lost two home games against CSK and DD.

The Red Army has secured victory in one match in their three fixtures so far. The matches between these two sides are keenly contested, with the Mumbai Indians having a huge edge, as they have won 14, while the RCB have won 7. Notably, RCB has failed to win against Mumbai at Wankhede in the previous two seasons.

The battle will be between Mumbai's bowling and the Red Army's batting.

Here are the three key battles that will decide who comes on top:

#1 Krunal Pandya vs AB De Villers

Krunal Pandya has performed well with both bat and ball for Mumbai Indians. He not only makes useful contributions lower down the order but also bowls accurately in the middle overs and has been a consistent performer in the last two seasons of the IPL.

In the first three matches of the IPL, he has already made a mark with his batting by hitting 41 and 28 against CSK and Sunrisers. His bowling has been impressive and has given away just 31 runs and taken two wickets in the five overs that he has bowled.

He will face-off against the mighty AB de Villers who played a fantastic knock of 55 against Kings XI. Krunal has been exceptional while bowling to the South African batsman, dismissing him a record four times in the IPL. With such a poor record against the spinner, AB de Villers will be cautious and this approach will give Krunal the licence and confidence to attack the batsman.