[In Pictures] Virat Kohli hands Will Jacks his first cap ahead of MI vs RCB IPL 2024 clash
With the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) struggling for contributions with the bat apart from Virat Kohli, they handed a debut to England's Will Jacks against Mumbai Indians (MI). Kohli gave the cap to the England spin-bowling all-rounder on Thursday (April 11), making him player No. 165 for RCB. At the toss, skipper Faf du Plessis confirmed that Jacks will bat at No. 3.
Jacks joined the Royal Challengers ahead of the 2023 edition but missed all the matches due to an injury. However, the franchise retained him for the ongoing season.
The 25-year-old is arguably one of the most destructive T20 players in the English circuit. Jacks had an excellent season for the Pretoria Capitals in SA20 2023, hitting 270 runs in seven matches at 38.57 with a strike rate of 201.49. He also had a good outing this year.
The Surrey all-rounder has done well for England in ODIs, hammering 276 runs in seven matches at 39.42 with a strike rate of 106.15 with two half-centuries. In 157 T20s, Jacks has mustered 4130 runs, striking at 158.66 with three centuries.
Mumbai Indians searching for their second IPL 2024 win against RCB
A crucial toss went Mumbai Indians' way as Hardik Pandya sent the Royal Challengers into bat on Thursday.
The five-time champions lost their first three games of the season. They managed to pull one back against the Delhi Capitals after three successive defeats in the previous game. They clobbered 234-5 in 20 overs after contributions from Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Tim David, and Romario Shepherd. Later, Gerald Coetzee and Jasprit Bumrah shared six scalps between them to keep the Capitals to 205-8.
Meanwhile, the Royal Challengers have won only one match out of five as their overseas batters, including Faf du Plessis and Glenn Maxwell, have struggled. RCB have made three other changes against MI, bringing in Mahipal Lomror, Vijaykumar Vyshak, and Akash Deep for Saurav Chauhan, Yash Dayal, and Mayank Dagar.