Call it a mighty battle. Two big teams fight each other, after both lost their opening matches. To be played in Bengaluru tomorrow, the hosts led by Kohli must be eager to get a going after they were dismissed for a paltry 70 the other night against Chennai Super Kings. Mumbai Indians were tamed by Delhi Capitals on Sunday.
The former IPL champions were defeated by 37 runs. With injury to Bumrah, Mumbai bowling looks brittle. Remember Delhi managed to score 213 runs thanks to a blitzkrieg by Rishabh Pant. Mitchell McClenaghan was the strike bowler in the match taking three wickets for 40 runs.
With Bumrah unlikely to play the match, Rohit has plenty to worry about. Ben Cutting leaked run giving away 27 in just two overs. Their batting relies heavily on Rohit Sharma though Yuvraj Sing came to the party and scored a half-century.
Krunal Panya looked in good touch but he can be expected to give the impetus in all matches. All depends heavily on de Kock and Rohit eventually. On his innings against DC, Yuvraj, said, “I took my time there. The wickets were falling and I thought if I take chance early, we (don’t) want to end getting close to the game, so I just took my time. I am happy with the way I was hitting the ball.”
Meanwhile, there is lot to worry for Bangalore. With IPL trophy still eluding them, the team is determined to set things right this time. Ambati Rayudu’s steady innings helped Chennai Super Kings beat Royal Challengers Bangalore by 7 wickets at the MA Chidambaram stadium on Saturday.
RCB managed the 6th lowest score in IPL history and their lowest joint-second lowest in the tournament, getting bowled out for 70 in 17.1 overs which CSK chased down in 17.4 overs. Kohli is betting big on himself, while de Villiers is all set to fire. But for the two, their batting looks brittle. Their bowling has young pace sensation Saini who clocks 150 kmph. A win at home ground would do a lot to boast their confidence.