Well, as we inch towards the second match of the day, it’s an absolute blockbuster as two of India’s most dominant batters go head-to-head once again. It’s Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Mumbai Indians—which means it’s the King vs the Hitman, Virat Kohli vs Rohit Sharma.
And this iconic rivalry returns at a special venue too, as the Tata IPL makes its comeback to the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Cricket Stadium after a 10-year hiatus. With two of the biggest stars in Indian cricket sharing the field once again, the stage is perfectly set for a blockbuster encounter.
Expected Playing 11:
RCB:
- Virat Kohli
- Jacob Bethell
- Devdutt Padikkal
- Rajat Patidar (C)
- Jitesh Sharma (WK)
- Tim David
- Romario Shephard
- Krunal Pandya
- Josh Hazlewood
- Bhuvneshwar Kumar
- Suyash Sharma
Impact Player- Rasikh Dar
MI:
- Ryan Rickelton (WK)
- Will Jacks
- Naman Dhir
- Suryakumar Yadav (C)
- Tilak Verma
- Corbin Bosch
- Robin Minz
- Shardul Thakur
- Jasprit Bumrah
- Trent Boult
- Ashwani Kumar
Impact Player- Raghu Sharma
Head to Head:
| Matches- | 35 |
| RCB Won- | 16 |
| MI Won- | 19 |
| No Result- | 0 |
Pitch and Weather Conditions:
The last IPL game in Raipur was played in 2016, and only two T20Is have been played here since January 2018. So there are a lot of unknowns for the teams to contend with. The upside is that there will be a fresh pitch. While the pitches in Raipur are traditionally slow, this one is expected to be good for batting. That could be challenged by the rains that pelted on Saturday. Sunday’s weather is set to be fair with the temperature going up to 40 degrees during the day and 24 degrees at night.
-ESPN CricInfo
Prediction:
Well, Mumbai Indians are coming into this clash after a win, while Royal Challengers Bengaluru are dealing with back-to-back losses. But despite that, we’re backing Bengaluru to bounce back and take the win in Raipur.
MI’s victory against LSG was important, but beating a struggling side is very different from taking down a quality team like RCB, who have been one of the strongest and most consistent teams this season. Every side goes through a rough patch of two or three games, and this could simply be that phase for Bengaluru. They certainly wouldn’t want to begin their Raipur home stretch with another defeat.
That said, MI absolutely have the ability to pull off a win. As we’ve mentioned before, their squad is packed with talent, and these remaining matches are as much about building momentum for next season as they are about results. If they can finally identify the right core and combinations, Mumbai could return next year looking like a completely different side—stronger, more settled, and ready to attack once again.
If you want to see Kohli VS Rohit Sharma one last time this season, then tune into JioHotstar at 7:30 PM IST.
Until next time!
Thank you.
SlogVlog 