IPL 6: Match 2 - MI vs RCB - Royal Challengers Bangalore Preview

They might not have a title in their kitty, but they will be easily the most closely followed team in the IPL, courtesy match-turners in Christopher Gayle and Abraham de Villiers. With the latter set to miss the opening game on Thursday against the mighty Mumbai Indians at Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru, Gayle would be the centre of attraction ahead of the game and should he carry on his form into this season, it could be an interesting battle against the Mumbai bowling, comprising of Lasith Malinga, Harbhajan Singh, Pragyan Ojha and Munaf Patel.

Royal Challengers Bangalore definitely look to be a stronger contender for the title under a dynamic and young captain, Virat Kohli. Undoubtedly, Bangalore have got the strongest top order amongst all the teams with Gayle, Tilakaratne Dilshan and Kohli in the top three rungs. De Villiers’ unavailability could actually expose the middle order in the case of a top order flop. Also adding to their woes is the fact that Cheteshwar Pujara, who is yet to showcase his talent in this format, is also a doubtful starter owing to a finger injury he picked up against Australia.

Mayank Agarwal and Saurabh Tiwary are raw talents who are yet to prove their mettle and consistency for the Mallya-owned franchise. Moises Henriques and Dan Christian have featured in almost all the editions of the IPL with different franchises, but their adaptability to Indian conditions will still be a major concern. RCB looked to be strongly equipped in the spin department with left arm spinner Murali Kartik adding tooth to the attack, along with legends Muthiah Muralitharan and Daniel Vettori.

RCB’s biggest strength this season must be the presence of a lot of Indian pacers in its squad, but it would be their form and consistency with the ball that would be under question. The availability of R.P. Singh, Vinay Kumar, Abhimanyu Mithun, Jaydev Unadkat along with West Indies paceman Ravi Rampaul projects RCB as the better team on paper against a Mumbai batting line-up that looks out-of-form on the international arena.

Conditions

Like it has been witnessed in IPL matches held in Bangalore over the past two years, tomorrow’s match might also be a high-scoring affair with batsmen completely dominating the ball. ‘ Gayle-storms’ have been predicted when Mumbai Indians have the ball and every score would look smaller to chase, with totals in excess of 200 having been chased easily in the past.

Head to head

When RCB met Mumbai in Bengaluru in 2012, the visitors won a closely fought contest, guided by an able chase from Ambati Rayudu and Kieron Pollard, although RCB had their say at Mumbai. Overall, they have met each other 12 times, including once in the Champions League and MI lead 7-5 in the clashes.

**Mumbai Indians has defeated Bangalore on all the four occasions at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.

Key Players

Chris Gayle – When he gets going, the going gets tough for the opposition. With Malinga a doubtful starter for the game, Mumbai Indians might have a difficult time in curtailing his aggression with the bat. With Gayle regaining touch with a fifty in the last Test against Zimbabwe, Ponting would definitely spend a sleepless night plotting the mammoth opener’s downfall.

Virat Kohli – Touted to be India’s next captain, the 2008 U-19 winning World Cup captain will have the reins of the team full time, after getting a taste of the captaincy last year during Vettori’s absence. It would be interesting to see Kohli handling his resources on the field.

RCB’s strategy

Their strategy would be simple. Bowl first, restrict the opposition to a modest target and then unleash the firepower in Gayle, Dilshan and Kohli. Murali would look to arrest the flow of runs and R.P. Singh, the third highest wicket taker across all IPLs, would hunt for the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting, Rohit Sharma and Kieron Pollard.

Probable XI

RCB might not want to experiment straight away in their first game and might look to settle with their past combination with minor changes to accommodate Ab de Villiers’ absence and R.P. Singh will spearhead the attack in Zak’s absence.

Chris Gayle, Tilakaratne Dilshan, Virat Kohli(C), Mayank Agarwal, Saurabh Tiwary, Dan Christian/ Abraham Mcdonald, Arun Karthik(W), Vinay Kumar, R.P. Singh, Muthiah Muralitharan, Abhimanyu Mithun/ Jaidev Unadkat