MI vs RCB

We are going to analyze one of the modern day rivalries in the IPL – MI vs RCB. Even before the beginning of the league, two teams of Mumbai and Karnataka were used to be fierce competitors in the Ranji Trophy over the years. Many believe that IPL rivalry is just an extension of that old history between both the regions. Both teams have locked horns against each other in a total of 25 matches till date. Mumbai Indians have been ruthless with 16 wins while on 9 occasions, Royal Challengers Bangalore have become triumphant.

Last two meetings

During the last year’s IPL, Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore met two times during the season. In the first MI vs RCB 2019 encounter at M. Chinnaswamy stadium very early in the season, Virat Kohli won the toss and put Mumbai Indians into bat. Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav had a blistering partnership in the initial phase and Hardik Pandya applied the finishing touches with a cameo of 32. Mumbai posted 187 on the board and Yuzvendra Chahal was the only notable bowler with 4 scalps. In the chase, all RCB hopes were pinned upon the dynamic duo of Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers. Both didn’t disappoint but the supporting acts were lacking as usual for RCB. AB de Villiers left stranded with 70 not out while impressive Jasprit Bumrah cleaned up the other end. He took 3 wickets and Mumbai took the match by only 6 runs to win MI vs RCB live match.

In the corresponding fixture at Wankhede stadium, home team elected to chase in an important game for RCB. After the early loss of openers, AB de Villiers and English international Moeen Ali had a memorable partnership and they belted Mumbai bowling to all parts of Wankhede. But after the unfortunate run-out of AB de Villiers, RCB had a collapse in the death overs and they ended up making 171 runs. Lasith Malinga didn’t let anything go by and took 4 wickets. Chasing 172, Mumbai Indians openers Quinton de Kock and Rohit Sharma laid down a solid platform. And with required rate never an issue, Hardik Pandya sealed the deal in the end. Mumbai Indians prevailed in the chase with an over left.

Who are RCB top batsmen?

Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers have been the mainstays of RCB batting lineup over the years. And it is no surprise that both are at the top of the table when it is the question of performing against Mumbai Indians. Virat Kohli has slammed 625 runs from 24 innings while AB de Villiers has accumulated a total of 564 runs from just 15 innings. They are followed by Parthiv Patel and Moeen Ali from the current set of players with 142 and 63 runs in order. AB de Villiers has been top-notch against MI with an average of 51.27 and a strike-rate of 147.64.

AB de Villiers has been particularly impressive at neutral venues while Virat Kohli dominates the home and away tables. Having said that, AB de Villiers is having better average and strike-rate than Virat Kohli in all the conditions. Fans would be having vivid memories of various record-breaking partnerships of these two against Mumbai, especially their Wankhede master-class back in the 2015 edition.

Who are RCB top bowlers?

There is reason why Royal Challengers Bangalore have struggled against Mumbai Indians even after such heroics from their batsmen and the reason is obvious – their bowling. Bowling department has always been Achilles’ heel for RCB in the IPL over the years and it is reflecting in the top wicket-takers’ list against MI as well.

Yuzvendra Chahal is at the top of the tree with 16 wickets from 11 innings. But the difference between first and second is a formidable one with Umesh Yadav taking only 6 wickets. Mohammed Siraj and Moeen Ali are at following positions with 5 and 2 wickets respectively.

Yuzvendra Chahal has been particularly impressive at the neutral venues with 10 scalps from 6 innings. These matches are mostly the play-off matches which are organized at neutral stadiums usually. There is nothing much to analyze from these stats apart from the fact that Yuzvendra Chahal is topping almost every chart for Royal Challengers Bangalore against Mumbai Indians.