In the 54th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023, Mumbai Indians (MI) will host Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai tonight i.e. Tuesday, May 9 at 7:30 PM IST.
After a poor show in Chennai, in which MI were defeated by six wickets, the five-time IPL champions would be happy to return to the iconic Wankhede Stadium for their next match. MI have accumulated 10 points in 10 games and are now ranked eighth in the points table. A win tonight at Wankhede will vault them to third place, however, coming into this game, the team must strike a proper balance. In the last few matches that they won chasing, it was Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav and Cameron Green who led the charge on the bowlers. While batting first on Saturday, the batters lacked composure and were out for a below-par score. Green’s declining form, Rohit Sharma‘s lack of form, and bowlers failing to take wickets at regular intervals are all key concerns, that the team should address in tonight’s game in front of a packed house.
On the other hand, RCB will aim for a repeat of what they did in their season opener against MI. The team comes into this game after a seven-wicket loss to the bottom-placed Delhi Capitals (DC). Despite this, the team is in good form, with openers Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis collecting runs at an elevated strike rate. Another piece of good news is the arrival of Mahipal Lomror. The Rajasthan-based batsman has finally responded to the management’s support, and if he demonstrates any of his hard-hitting tonight, the boundaries will appear too short for him. There are still concerns with the bowlers as they are yet to impress with their skillset. A win tonight would put them in third place on the points standings, which is what fans would anticipate.
Head-to-head:
MI leads the two teams’ head-to-head competition. Both teams faced each other 31 times, with Mumbai winning 17 and RCB winning 13. Nonetheless, in their last outing, which took place earlier this season, RCB won by eight wickets.
Where-to-Watch:
OTT: JioCinema