Desperate times for RCB as they face an equally struggling MI

Mumbai, Desperate Royal Challengers Bengaluru will be under immense pressure to deliver against equally struggling Mumbai Indians when the two teams clash in an Indian Premier League match here on Thursday.

Four defeats in five matches has not only confirmed how bad RCB were in the last IPL auction, but they have also missed the opportunity to make up for it with a better fielding performance.

However, nothing is different as RCB are just a step below MI in the points table at ninth place and MI have won just one of their four games so far.

Despite Virat Kohli's brilliance, RCB's campaign is in danger of falling apart even before they can register enough wins to qualify for the knockout stages.

With the halfway point of the ongoing IPL fast approaching, RCB's overseas stars including skipper Faf du Plessis, Glenn Maxwell and Cameron Green will definitely need to find some form.

Kohli's dominant form of 316 runs with one century and two fifties at a strike rate of 146.29 has been the only bright spot for RCB.

With memories of his 50th ODI century in the World Cup semi-final at the Wankhede Stadium just five months ago still fresh, Kohli would like to flourish again at the same venue on Thursday.

All the bowling attacks will be left looking for answers if one of their part-timers is the No. 1 batsman at the top of the list. And in the case of RCB, whose bowling looked exposed even before they hit the ground, Maxwell's four scalps offer no respite or reassurance.

But their recent record against MI can boost RCB who have won four of their last five matches. However, the overall record in 32 matches tilts in favor of the five-time champions who enjoyed 18 wins against RCB's 14.

MI would know that the current conditions present them with a ripe opportunity to build on their recent success and move up the points table after a tough start.

For a side that always starts the IPL with a few losses, MI know their way around these lanes. A contending RCB can bring their second win on the trot and give them a boost of confidence before they face defending champions Chennai Super Kings.

But it would be necessary for MI not to go too far as they too have their share of concerns.

While Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan have set the scoring pace at the top, the middle-order has not been able to carry the pace for which skipper Hardik Pandya is largely responsible.

It remains to be seen if the MI fans' anger towards Pandya will continue when he takes to the field next as he got a breather in their last game which was attended by thousands of kids and not regular supporters.

Suryakumar Yadav's comeback amid much attention ended in a damp squab, but world no. 1 T20 batter would be itching to hit strides and score big.

Romario Shepherd's blitz against Anrich Nortje for 32 runs in the over proved to be clearly the difference against DC here as the visitors managed to cross the 200-run mark despite not looking threatening enough in their pursuit of an impressive 235-run target.

Teams:

Mumbai Indians: Hardik Pandya, Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Dewald Brevis, Jasprit Bumrah, Piyush Chawla, Gerald Coetzee, Tim David, Shreyas Gopal, Ishan Kishan, Anshul Kamboj, Kumar Kartikeya, Akash Madhwal, Kwena Naphabi, Mohammad Maphabi, ., Naman Dhir, Shivalik Sharma, Romario Shepherd, Arjun Tendulkar, Nuwan Suchhara, Tilak Varma, Vishnu Vinod, Nehal Wadhera, Luke Wood.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Faf du Plessis, Glenn Maxwell, Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Anuj Rawat, Dinesh Karthik, Suyash Prabhudessai, Will Jacks, Mahipal Lomror, Karn Sharma, Manoj Bhandage, Mayank Dagar, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Mohamed Deraj, Mohamed Reece Topley , Himanshu Sharma, Rajan Kumar, Cameron Green, Alzarri Joseph, Yash Dayal, Tom Curran, Lockie Ferguson, Swapnil Singh, Saurav Chauhan.

Time: 19:30 IST.

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