IPL 2021, MI vs RCB: With just two days to go, both Mumbai Indians (MI) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) are giving final touches to their preparations ahead of the season opener. MI will play RCB on April 9 at MA Chidambaram Stadium in the first game of the IPL 2021. While Rohit Sharma-led Mumbai will enter the competition with nearly the same squad as last year, Virat Kohli-RCB will take the pitch after making heavy changes to its team at the auctions in February. The first match will also see some key battles. InsideSport brings you 4 big battles to keep an eye on.
IPL 2021, MI vs RCB: Virat Kohli vs Jasprit Bumrah
While Kohli is the world’s best batsman in limited-overs cricket, Bumrah is one of the finest pacers India has produced. Both Kohli and Bumrah are the vital cog of their respective team and will once again push each other to their limit and get the best out of each other in the battle of the best.
IPL 2021, MI vs RCB: Suryakumar Yadav vs Yuzvendra Chahal
Suryakumar made a dream debut for India after he hit a half-century against England. His unorthodox 360-degree shot was a statement about his arrival to the international scene. Meanwhile, Chahal is Kohli’s go-to bowler. Whenever RCB had struggled to find the breakthroughs, it is Chahal who gets the call-up. In the middle overs, Chahal can be really wily with his slow lengths and flatter trajectories. If these two come face to face, the fans are in for a treat.
IPL 2021, Hardik Pandya vs Navdeep Saini:
Just to mention that we expect Pandya the batter to bring his ‘A’ game to the fore, just like he did it against Australia. Pandya is Mumbai’s x-factor and the fact that he can now bowl adds to the defending champion’s strength.
Meanwhile, if Pandya goes onto rampage, Kohli must summon Saini. He is an excellent death-over specialist and can suffocate the batter with his pinpoint yorkers. Add to it his searing pace and you get a mouth-watering clash on your hands.
MI squad 2021 for IPL 2021
Rohit Sharma, Quinton de Kock (WK), Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan (WK), Chris Lynn, Anmolpreet Singh, Saurabh Tiwary, Aditya Tare, Kieron Pollard, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Anukul Roy, Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult, Rahul Chahar, Jayant Yadav, Dhawal Kulkarni, Mohsin Khan, Adam Milne, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Piyush Chawla, James Neesham, Yudhvir Charak, Marco Jansen, Arjun Tendulkar.
RCB squad 2021 for IPL 2021
Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, Yuzvendra Chahal, Devdutt Padikkal, Navdeep Saini, Washington Sundar, Mohammed Siraj, Kane Richardson, Adam Zampa, Josh Philippe, Shahbaz Ahmed, Pavan Deshpande, Kyle Jamieson, Glenn Maxwell, Dan Christian, Sachin Baby, Rajat Patidar, Mohammed Azharuddeen, Suyash Prabhudesai, KS Bharat