IPL 2019 – Match 31: Mumbai Indians vs Royal Challengers Bangalore – RCB Predicted Playing XI

After six consecutive failures, the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) finally got off the blocks in the game against the Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) at the PCA Stadium in Mohali. It seemed a huge relief for the players as they have been constantly under the pump in the tournament. At this stage, RCB has got nothing to lose.

They will qualify for the playoffs if they win every single game from here which is quite improbable. Thus, the players can play without the additional burden and enjoy their game. The team will play the next game at the iconic Wankhede Stadium where they’ll face the Mumbai Indians (MI). Things seem to be sorted as they finally got a win under their belt and RCB might not experiment with the eleven much.

Here is the Predicted Playing XI for the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB):

Openers (Parthiv Patel (wk), Virat Kohli (c))

Parthiv Patel is never that sort of a cricketer who plays the long innings and notches up big scores in the IPL. His role is clearly to make maximum utilisation of the powerplay and provide the team with a good start. Thus, his string of low scores might not be a huge concern for the management as they appear to be. He will continue to stick to this role.

Before the KXIP game, Virat Kohli toiled hard in the nets where he had a two-hour long session. These efforts did pay off in the match where he scored 67 runs from 53 balls. But ideally, he should have finished the game for his team. The skipper will only look to go upwards from here.

Middle Order (AB de Villiers, Akshdeep Nath)

The RCB camp will be thrilled with the way AB de Villiers batted in the last game. He unleashed his 360-game at last and seems to be a confident individual. This was probably the best he’s played in this season and didn’t have any second thoughts when he wanted to take the bowlers on.

Also, having Virat at the other end helped ABD take some time initially. Since the scoring rate wasn’t too high, he first settled in and then went big. This should be the approach going ahead as well. As far as Akshdeep Nath is concerned, he’s had his opportunities limited. However, he is highly talented and adds depth to the lineup.

All Rounders (Marcus Stoinis, Moeen Ali, Washington Sundar)

Even though he’s had a slight bit of luck on his side, Marcus Stoinis deserved it and batted well. Coming in to bat at a crucial situation, the Australian did well to finish the game for his team. He scored an unbeaten 28 from 16 balls and should continue in the same role.

Moeen Ali finally had an opportunity to bowl all his four overs in the last match. RCB and Virat Kohli should try to do that more often as this English cricketer is quite talented. The Mumbai Indians have got quite a few left-handers in their line-up and thus Moeen will have a big role to play. For the same reason, RCB might include Washington Sundar as well. The all-rounder is capable of opening the bowling as well.

Bowlers (Umesh Yadav, Navdeep Saini, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mohammed Siraj)

Umesh Yadav will share the pace responsibilities with Navdeep Saini. Yadav has been slightly unlucky in the last game. He had an opportunity to dismiss Chris Gayle twice but failed to do so. First, a DRS call wasn’t taken and then Virat dropped an easy catch going by his standards. Thus, considering all these factors, he has done a decent job and will continue in the eleven.

Navdeep Saini has also figured out the lines and lengths that he should bowl. He is much more effective now and is restricting the run flow. Mohammed Siraj could be axed for the next game. Yuzvendra Chahal is irreplaceable in the line-up and should look to dismiss the big guns of the opposition.

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