Venue: Dubai International Stadium, Dubai
Time: 7:30 PM IST
Average score at venue: 161
Win percentage while batting first: 41.86%
Pitch Conditions:
- The pitch at the Dubai International Stadium remains favourable to batsmen with big scores in excess of 180 being possible at this venue.
- The fast bowlers have continued to dominate proceedings in the Indian T20 tournament as well as at Dubai with 67.51% of wickets in their name while spinners getting 32.49% of the dismissals.
Weather prediction:
Following a hot and sultry day in Dubai, temperature will drop down from 35°C and will remain static at 34°C with clear skies on Sunday evening. The humidity levels will slowly inch towards 60% as the evening grows on.
Head-to-head performance:
Matches played: 28
Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) won: 11
Mumbai Indians (MI) won: 17
Tied: –
Top 3 players from Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB): Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, Glenn Maxwell
Top 3 players from Mumbai Indians (MI): Rohit Sharma, Quinton de Kock, Jasprit Bumrah
Top picks for H2H/WTA contest (top 5 players each):
Top 5 players from Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB): Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, Glenn Maxwell, AB de Villiers, Harshal Patel
Top 5 players from Mumbai Indians (MI): Rohit Sharma, Quinton de Kock, Jasprit Bumrah, Ishan Kishan, Kieron Pollard
Q&A:
Should I pick more bowlers, batsmen or all-rounders?
In a power-packed contest between Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore, it will always be wise to deck up your playing XI in fantasy cricket with more batting options. Both these fabulous teams have great bowling options, tremendous depth and the ability to notch up big scores, as well as turnaround matches in a matter of a few overs. While RCB have plenty of batting options in Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, Glenn Maxwell, AB de Villiers and Singapore’s Tim David, Mumbai Indians have the Indian batting heavyweight in Rohit Sharma, Quinton de Kock, Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Karan Pollard and Krunal Pandya to name a few.
From which team should I pick more players in my XI? Which team is stronger?
Royal Challengers Bangalore have been on a downward spiral after making a terrific start to the Indian T20 2021 tournament, which they marked by winning the first 4 matches on the trot. Since then, RCB have lost 4 games and won only 1, which was a narrow victory or by 1 run against last year’s finalists Delhi Capitals. On the other hand, the defeat at the hands of Kolkata Knight Riders by 7 wickets has pushed Mumbai Indians, the defending champions this year, as low as to the 6th position in the Indian T20 2021 points table. Mumbai Indians are yet to show their promise and credentials for being worthy of having a shot at the title this year, whereas RCB on their part, need to pick themselves up after a string of ordinary performances on the field. At this juncture, Kohli’s RCB look stronger and more in-form than Rohit’s Mumbai Indians.
MORE INFORMATION:
Players’ form: In a contest between the incumbent Indian T20 captain Kohli and the possible future leader in Rohit, there will be an interesting battle between the two best batsmen in the world to get runs at the top. Both Rohit and Kohli showed their form in their previous matches, with the latter getting a half-century to set up a platform for his side which his side eventually squandered against Chennai Super Kings to lose the game as well. For Mumbai Indians, de Kock and Pollard are the two batsmen to look up to, but the current form of Suryakumar will be a concern for the five-time title winners. RCB will want more from their middle-order after they misfired against CSK on Friday night. As far as bowling is concerned, Mumbai Indians’ Jasprit Bumrah looks in great form and RCB bowlers will have to be at the top of their game in order to stop the opposition batsmen from putting heavy score on board.
Changes in squad (if any): NO
LIKELY XIs:
Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB): Virat Kohli (c), Devdutt Padikkal, AB de Villiers, Glenn Maxwell, Tim David, Harshal Patel, Wanindu Hasaranga, Kona Srikar Bharat (wk), Navdeep Saini, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal.
Mumbai Indians (MI): Rohit Sharma (c), Quinton de Kock, Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan (wk), Kieron Pollard, Krunal Pandya, Saurabh Tiwary, Adam Milne, Rahul Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult
FANTASY XI: Rohit Sharma (c), Virat Kohli (vc), Devdutt Padikkal, Glenn Maxwell, AB de Villiers (wk), Kieron Pollard, Rahul Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah, Krunal Pandya, Yuzvendra Chahal, Harshal Patel.
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Virat Kohli vs Rohit Sharma as RCB, MI look to pick up
For their 4 consecutive victories at the start of Indian T20 2021 tournament, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) have maintained their standing of 3rd position in the points table despite going through a slump, from which they must emerge soon and stem the rot. On the other hand, Mumbai Indians are yet to arrive in the Indian T20 2021 competition, and this contest against Virat Kohli’s charged-up RCB side is big enough to force them to bring their ‘A’ game forward and shrug off the rust.
Royal Challengers Bangalore have so far played 9 matches from which they have 5 victories and 4 defeats, which gives them 10 points but a negative Net Run Rate (NRR) of -0.720. On the other hand, Mumbai Indians have more to worry about since in 9 matches, they have only 4 victories and 5 defeats giving them 8 points, as well as a negative NRR of -0.310.
Both Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore are coming off heavy defeats in their respective previous matches. While Mumbai Indians were hammered by 7 wickets by Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), Royal Challengers Bangalore were swept away by a rampant Chennai Super Kings, who recorded a 6-wicket victory despite RCB putting in the hard work.
RCB were close to the 100-run mark at the halfway stage batting first against Chennai Super Kings, but they collapsed to lose 6 wickets for only 45 runs in the second half of their innings to post a total which was eventually an easy chase for Chennai Super Kings to achieve.
Kohli and Padikkal got crucial half-centuries, but it was the middle-order which disappointed for RCB who will want them to stand up and deliver in a crucial contest against the unpredictable Mumbai Indians, who might just be climbing up for a grand return to the top.
It is very well known that Mumbai Indians are a side who tend to pick up momentum and turn absolutely ruthless towards the later stages of the league round in the Indian T20 tournaments, as seen several times in the past. The time is now ripe for them to bring out their best with their backs now firmly pressed against the wall.
The biggest concern for Mumbai Indians going into the clash against Royal Challengers Bangalore will be the form of their batting mainstay Suryakumar, who has not been able to make the runs he is known for. However, there might be some good news around the corner for the five-time champions as their star all-rounder Hardik Pandya is reportedly fit to make come back into the team against RCB.
Mumbai Indians will also want more from the likes of Pollard and Pandya, along with the wicketkeeper-batsman Ishan Kishan as they form a crucial middle and lower-order which gets to face the death overs more likely or not. Bumrah has been at the forefront of taking wickets but he needs more support from the other bowlers, with Rahul Chahar carrying a greater responsibility in the contest of containing the RCB batsmen.
