Mumbai Indians will target returning to winning ways when they face Royal Challengers Bangalore at the Wankhede Stadium on Monday. MI’s three-match winning run was brought to a halt by Rajasthan Royals in our previous game, but the boys showed fight in that match and will be keen to make amends against RCB in front of our home fans. We won the previous encounter this season against Bangalore, but Monday’s clash will be a completely different ball-game with RCB heading into the contest on the back of their first win in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2019.

Head-to-head

MI 15–9 RCB

Form Guide (Last 5 Games)

Mumbai Indians: L W W W L

Royal Challengers Bangalore: W L L L L

From the MI dugout

Our batsmen posted a competitive score in the last game and will have the confidence of doing well with willow in hand on a good batting surface in Mumbai. Skipper Rohit Sharma has shown us glimpses of what he’s capable of, but he’ll want to convert one of his starts into a big knock for MI sooner rather than later. Our batsmen will also have to ensure that we don’t lose too many wickets and momentum in the middle overs. MI have lost several wickets just after the powerplay this year and it’s an area our batsmen will need to improve on. Meanwhile, our bowlers need to execute plans and be much more consistent with line and length to restrict a formidable RCB batting unit featuring Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers.    

Key Player

Quinton de Kock is our highest scorer this season with 238 runs so far. The South African wicketkeeper has scored two fifties for MI this year and has given us strong starts. He scored 81 in our last match against Rajasthan and will be looking to kick on. His opening partnership of 96 with Rohit against RR was also our best opening stand this campaign and fifth best overall in IPL 2019.

From the RCB dugout

After six consecutive losses to start their season, Royal Challengers Bangalore finally won their first game of IPL 2019 against Kings XI Punjab on Saturday. They will have some confidence coming into the clash against MI and will hope to maintain their winning momentum. RCB’s star-studded batting line-up is well documented, however, their bowlers have been expensive. Yuzvendra Chahal, who picked up four wickets against us in March, has been their standout bowler. They’ve also roped in Dale Steyn recently and he could feature for them on Monday.

Key Player

The leading run-getter in IPL history, Virat Kohli’s wicket is bound to have a massive bearing on the outcome of the game. The RCB skipper made 67 against KXIP and became the leading Indian scorer in T20s. He’s tended to struggle with spin at the start of his innings’ recently, making it imperative for us to exploit such weaknesses early on and not allow him to settle at the crease.