Last Updated on 6 years by Charbel Coorey

IPL 2019: RCB vs MI Preview Dream11. Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Mumbai Indians Preview Dream11 Prediction

It’s time for two famous T20 franchises in world cricket.

Match seven sees two teams who lost their first matches, after putting in performances that have underlined how they are perceived in IPL cricket.

Royal Challengers Bangalore faced very difficult conditions in Chennai. However, their inability to read the conditions and adjust accordingly was disappointing. On a pitch where 110 would have been a winning score, RCB aimed for 180. There was only to be one result. Fans will be hoping that this season is different to seasons previous, and that they will bounce back in their first home game of IPL 2019. Can they put in an all-round performance?

Mumbai Indians are in a pretty standard position. They have lost their first game yet again, suffering Pant-emodium as they conceded a mammoth 219 in Delhi. They too need to bounce back, as falling behind might be too difficult to come back from in a competitive tournament. Indeed, that is what proved to be the case last season. With Jasprit Bumrah set to play, will MI get their season off and running?

Also read: Can RCB win IPL 2019?

Key to a Royal Challengers Bangalore win

Home sweet home. RCB return to the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, where the pitch has traditionally been a belter for batting. Virat Kohli’s men have the chance to put their 70 all-out calamity behind them, with significant onus on the batsmen to put pressure on an MI side that was very expensive in Delhi. Again, Kohli and AB de Villiers will be key, along with Shimron Hetmyer, who disappointed in a show of nerves on IPL debut. Can the likes of Parthiv Patel, Shivam Dube and Colin de Grandhomme also contribute to a big total?

Also, can the bowlers deliver an exhibition as they did vs MI at home last season? They defended 167, lifting hopes of a strong run to the finals. A playoffs appearance didn’t materialise, but the template from that night is set. Umesh Yadav, IPL 2018’s top powerplay wicket taker, will be crucial against Rohit Sharma and Quinton de Kock. With Tim Southee a good chance of returning too, RCB can hope for a good start with the ball, where then the likes of Yuzvendra Chahal can build on against the MI middle order. Are RCB better served playing Washington Sundar, or will Moeen Ali overcome his recent poor form effectively enough?

Key to a Mumbai Indians win

It was a tough night in Delhi for MI. Each of their six bowlers went for at least 10 an over, which was not the ideal start to a campaign. The task doesn’t get much easier with RCB capable of scoring big at home, so the onus is on the bowlers to bounce back. Jasprit Bumrah will be key to this, and he needs the likes of Mitchell McClenaghan and Hardik Pandya to support him well. Will Krunal Pandya again be the only specialist spinner? If so, can he deliver control? Will Lasith Malinga return to help MI get the better of Kohli and de Villiers at a ground where they have shared plenty of success?

Also, players in the MI side again need to justify their inclusion. Yuvraj Singh over Ishan Kishan mystified some fans, and he has to build on his half century. However, before that, MI need Rohit Sharma and Quinton de Kock to overcome Yadav in the powerplay, and push RCB on the back foot on a ground where runs can be difficult to control. It is then that the likes of Kieron Pollard and Ben Cutting can be used to their full potential, delivering a strong finish against a side that often struggles bowling at the death.

Possible Playing 11

RCB were a spinner short in Chennai, which means they could stick with the same team in Bangalore. One change they could look at is Tim Southee for Moeen Ali, who has been poor of late.

RCB: 1. Parthiv Patel (wk), 2. Virat Kohli (c), 3. AB de Villiers, 4. Shimron Hetmyer, 5. Shivam Dube, 6. Colin de Grandhomme, 7. Moeen Ali/Tim Southee, 8. Navdeep Saini, 9. Yuzvendra Chahal, 10. Umesh Yadav, 11. Mohammad Siraj

MI made some big calls to leave Ishan Kishan and Mayank Markande out of their side vs DC. It remains to be seen if one loss has them changing things. Lasith Malinga has been granted by SLC to join the MI squad, and could line up.

MI: 1. Rohit Sharma (c), 2. Quinton de Kock (wk), 3. Suryakumar Yadav, 4. Yuvraj Singh, 5. Kieron Pollard, 6. Hardik Pandya, 7. Krunal Pandya, 8. Ben Cutting, 9. Mitchell McGlenaghan/Lasith Malinga, 10. Raskih Salam, 11. Jasprit Bumrah

Also read: 5 big predictions for IPL 2019

Dream11 Prediction

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Key stats and points:

• Parthiv Patel vs Quinton de Kock. de Kock has been in superb form for South Africa, and returns to the Chinnaswamy where he had mixed results last season. Patel was RCB’s highest scorer last match.
• Rohit Sharma scored 94 (52) vs RCB last season. However, he made 0 (1) in his last visit to Bangalore in IPL. He has a poor record at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium (avg. 18.60 in 11), so pick with caution.
• Virat Kohli vs MI in IPL 2018: 92* (62) and 32 (26).
• AB de Villiers has a pretty strong record vs MI: 511 runs in 19 innings at 36.50 (SR 138.48).
• Yuvraj Singh strikes at 162 vs RCB, but was out for 4 at the Chinnaswamy in IPL 2018, as part of his poor start to the tournament.
• Key battle: Suryakumar Yadav vs Umesh Yadav: Umesh Yadav dismissed Suryakumar twice in IPL 2018, for a combined nine runs.
• Kieron Pollard averages more against RCB (39.08) than any other team he has played. His SR of 161.72 is second best of any team he has played.
• Hardik Pandya took 3/28 and scored 50 at Bangalore in IPL 2018.
• Jasprit Bumrah took a combined 3/50 in eight overs vs RCB in IPL 2018. He is my pick to do well in IPL 2019.
• Tim Southee was man of the match in RCB’s last match vs RCB (2/25).
• Yuzvendra Chahal took no wickets vs MI last season but remains one of RCB’s best.

Option 1:

Option 2:

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Stats and Facts

• Head-to-Head: Matches 23 RCB 9 MI 14.
• Both teams won a game against each other in IPL 2018. RCB defended 167 in the last meeting vs MI in Bengaluru.
• Before RCB’s victory over MI in IPL 2018, MI had won six in a row vs RCB.

Match Prediction

Wow, what a difficult match to predict.

RCB are a strong unit at home, and MI have to guard against losing more games early. However, despite my pick that MI will go very far, you get the feeling MI will continue to find their feet early. This is why I pick RCB to get a crucial early win.

Thanks for reading!