The Indian Premier League 2022 has seen some surprising results so far, with the likes of Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings languishing at the bottom of the table. In the match no. 18 of the IPL 2022, we will witness Royal Challengers Bangalore and the five-time IPL winners face off at the MCA Stadium in Pune on Saturday.
RCB have won two of their three matches in the tournament so far and their net run-rate reads 0.159. They started the season with a five-wicket defeat against Punjab Kings but bounced back to win two matches on the trot. In the previous fixture against Rajasthan Royals, RCB conceded 169/3 while bowling first, with Harshal Patel returning 1 for 18 in four overs.
Chasing the target, RCB had found themselves in a critical situation, with half their side back in the hut for 87 runs in 12.3 overs. Dinesh Karthik’s sublime knock of 44* off 23 and Shahbaz Ahmed’s 26-ball 45 rescued the team to a four-wicket victory with five balls to spare.
The former five-time champions Mumbai Indians, on the other hand, have lost three out three games and are reeling at 9th position with a net run-rate of -1.362. Their last game saw them take a five-wicket beating at the hands of Kolkata Knight Riders – an opponent they’ve dominated over the years.
Batting first, MI openers struggled to get going and put the team on the backfoot straight away. Suryakumar Yadav celebrated his return from injury in style, scoring a 52 off 37 while impressive young batter Tilak Varma added 38* off 27. Kieron Pollard’s cameo of 5-ball 22 took MI to a decent total of 161/4.
Mumbai Indians had a sniff of a victory when they dismissed five batters of KKR, including Andre Russell. But Pat Cummins’ outrageous innings – that saw him smash 56* off 15 – swept Rohit Sharma’s men off the floor.
Key players
Harshal Patel has reinvented himself and has become one of the most reliable death overs bowlers. After claiming the purple cap in the IPL 2021 with 32 wickets, the right arm pacer has started the 2022 season well. Harshal has picked 4 wickets in three games while conceding at an exceptional economy of 5.42. In the last season, Patel had picked 9 for 44 against MI in two games.
Dinesh Karthik is amongst the best pace hitters in the world and when used well, he’s simply ridiculous. Since 2017, the right hander has scored 661 runs in the overs 17-20 at an average of 31.5 while striking at 182.1. Karthik has been outstanding in the ongoing season, scoring 90 off 44 across three games, without getting dismissed.
Ishan Kishan is amongst the most talented young cricketers in the world. The left hander has done very well for MI as an opener, having scored four consecutive fifties before falling cheaply in the last game. Kishan scored 81 off 48 and 54 off 43 in the first two games of this season. Overall, he has scored 1601 runs in the IPL at 30.2 average and 136 strike rate.
There’s very little argument against Jasprit Bumrah being the best fast bowler in the world. The MI pacer has picked 133 wickets in the IPL in 109 matches at an excellent economy of 7.44 rpo. Bumrah was taken apart in the opening fixture but returned with 3 for 17 in the second game. He went wicketless in the last game but remains MI’s biggest hope in the bowling unit.
Prediction
As far as the overall head to head record in the RCB vs MI rivalry is concerned, the men in blue and gold have dominated the scoreline by 19 wins compared to 12 by the Royal Challengers. However, RCB have won three out of the last five clashes.
As for the teams, RCB look like a much better side regarding the balance of the side. Glenn Maxwell’s return bolsters them even further. The bowling attack of Mohammed Siraj, Harshal Patel, Wanindu Hasaranga and David Willey looks solid at the moment, with Josh Hazlewood still unavailable. RCB’s batting should have any issues against Mumbai, who lack quality spinners. Shahbaz Ahmed has been impressive while Dinesh Karthik has done a terrific job as a finisher.
MI have some serious selection issues ahead of the game. They need to change their bowling combination and the likes of Riley Meredith, Sanjay Yadav, Fabian Allen and Jaidev Unadkat are in contention to replace Daniel Sams and Basil Thampi. The batting department doesn’t need any tinkering as Dewald Brevis looked at home in the last game, batting at no. 3.
Overall, RCB have better balance in the side, better bowling attack, they bat deep and the opposition lacks quality bowling to trouble them. Expect the Royal Challengers to come out on top in this RCB vs MI fixture on Saturday.
