Dubai: Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) would look to address its pace-bowling concerns when it meets defending champion Mumbai Indians (MI) in an Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 match here on Monday.
Virat Kohli-led RCB, which began its campaign with a win against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), was humbled by Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) in its previous game. While Kohli dropped a couple of catches, the Bangalore pace bowlers, barring Navdeep Saini, were far from their best versus Kings XI, especially at the death overs.
While South African Dale Steyn is expected to retain his place in the playing eleven, Umesh Yadav could miss out as Mohammed Siraj is waiting in the wings. All-rounder Chris Morris, who sat out the first two games due to a side strain, is unlikely to be fully fit.
Whichever fast bowler makes it to the team sheet will have to come up with better performances if RCB is to defeat holder Mumbai. There is nothing to worry about in the spin-bowling department as Yuzvendra Chahal has been on top of his game since day one.
As far as the batters are concerned, Kohli, with scores of 14 and 1 in the opening two matches, is due for a big one. Youngster Devdutt Padikkal will aim for consistency, with his partner Aaron Finch hoping to convert starts into match-winning efforts.
AB de Villiers, who is in good touch, will once again be expected to provide the late fireworks since the lower middle-order lacks experience. Bangaloreās opponent Mumbai could stick with the same team that posted a comfortable win over Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) a couple of days back.
Captain and opening batsman Rohit Sharma is back among the runs and so is the ever reliable Suryakumar Yadav. Lower down the batting order, MI boasts of Hardik Pandya and Kieron Pollard to finish off the innings with the bat.
Pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah has returned to form after a rare failure against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and that is another positive for Mumbai. James Pattinson and Trent Boult played their part to perfection against KKR and would be keen to continue the same.