Match 48 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 has defending champions Mumbai Indians taking on the Royal Challengers Bangalore at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium on Wednesday.
The Mumbai Indians are continuing their stellar form from last year, and occupy the top spot in the IPL 2020 points table at the time of writing. Despite losing Rohit Sharma to an injury last week, MI have coped fairly well.
Apart from a star-studded batting unit, the Mumbai Indians boast of a well-rounded bowling attack. Trent Boult and Jasprit Bumrah have picked up 33 wickets between them so far, while Rahul Chahar and Krunal Pandya have done well to restrict the flow of runs.
Like MI, the Royal Challengers Bangalore have done well this season and currently occupy the third spot by virtue of net run rate. Youngsters Devdutt Padikkal and Washington Sundar have shown what they are capable of, while Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers have lived up to their lofty expectations.
The last time these two sides met in the IPL, RCB needed a Super Over to get the better of MI. The likes of AB de Villiers and Ishan Kishan stood out as they played blistering knocks in the thrilling game.
If that game is any indication of things to come, we should be in for another riveting contest in Abu Dhabi with a playoff place hanging in the balance.
Squads to choose from
Mumbai Indians
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Rohit Sharma (C), Saurabh Tiwary, Chris Lynn, Anmolpreet Singh, Suryakumar Yadav, Krunal Pandya, Hardik Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Anukul Roy, Prince Balwant Rai, Sherfane Rutherford, Jasprit Bumrah, James Pattinson, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Trent Boult, Dhawal Kulkarni, Rahul Chahar, Jayant Yadav, Mitchell McClenaghan, Quinton de Kock, Ishan Kishan, Aditya Tare, Digvijay Deshmukh and Mohsin Khan
Royal Challengers Bangalore
Virat Kohli (C), AB de Villiers, Devdutt Padikkal, Gurkeerat Singh, Moeen Ali, Mohammed Siraj, Navdeep Saini, Parthiv Patel, Pawan Negi, Shivam Dube, Umesh Yadav, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Aaron Finch, Chris Morris, Dale Steyn, Isuru Udana, Joshua Philippe, Pavan Deshpande, Shahbaz Ahamad, Adam Zampa
Predicted Playing 11
Mumbai Indians
Quinton de Kock (WK), Saurabh Tiwary, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, Kieron Pollard (C), Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Rahul Chahar, James Pattinson, Trent Boult and Jasprit Bumrah
Royal Challengers Bangalore
Devdutt Padikkal, Aaron Finch, Virat Kohli (C), AB de Villiers (WK), Shivam Dube, Gurkeerat Singh, Isuru Udana, Chris Morris, Yuzvendra Chahal, Washington Sundar and Umesh Yadav/Mohammed Siraj
Match Details
Match: Mumbai Indians vs Royal Challengers Bangalore, Match 48
Date: 28th October 2020, at 7:30 PM IST
Venue: Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Pitch Report
The pitch at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium is on the slower side, with the bowlers ruling the roost over the last week or so.
While the pacers have kept the openers on their toes with incisive swing bowling, the nature of the pitch has allowed spinners to have a significant say in the outcome of the match.Advertisement
The batsmen will have to bide their time in the middle before going big, with wickets in hand being key at this venue. However, the previous game between RR and MI at this venue which saw over 380 runs being scored does hint that the wicket might have some life in it still.
Both sides will look to chase upon winning the toss, with 160-170 being a competitive total at this venue.
MI vs RCB IPL Dream11 Fantasy Suggestions
Fantasy Suggestion #1: Quinton de Kock, AB de Villiers, Devdutt Padikkal, Suryakumar Yadav, Aaron Finch, Kieron Pollard, Chris Morris, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal and Rahul Chahar
Captain: AB de Villiers, Vice-Captain: Quinton de Kock
Fantasy Suggestion #2: Quinton de Kock, Virat Kohli, Saurabh Tiwary, Suryakumar Yadav, Aaron Finch, Kieron Pollard, Chris Morris, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal and Trent Boult
Captain: Quinton de Kock, Vice-Captain: Aaron Finch