Aakash Chopra puts together his fantasy team for RCB vs Mumbai Indians (6:28)
Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Mumbai Indians, IPL Match 10, Dubai
Pro Tip:
Trust the big guns to fire but also pick a few in-form youngsters.
Our XI: Quinton De Kock (wk), Rohit Sharma (c), Suryakumar Yadav, Virat Kohli (vc), AB De Villiers, Kieron Pollard, Hardik Pandya, Yuzvendra Chahal, Navdeep Saini, Jasprit Bumrah, Rahul Chahar
Substitutes: Shivam Dube, Aaron Finch, Washington Sundar, James Pattinson
NOTE: We may not always be able to tip you off about late injury (or other relevant) updates, so please finalise your team after the toss.
Player availability: Chris Morris is yet to recover from his side strain and is expected to miss this game as well.
Captain: Rohit Sharma
Sharma came back to form with a 54-ball 80 against the Knight Riders. When in form, he can take down any bowling attack. When an attack, like Royal Challengers Bangalore’s, is short of confidence, he becomes a bigger threat. He strikes at 156.94 against them since 2017, significantly higher than his strike rate against other teams in this period. He also averages 45.20. Of course, the opposition attack has also changed a bit over the years, but at least over the last couple of seasons, Umesh Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal have been constants.
Vice-captain: Virat Kohli
Kohli doesn’t often struggle for runs early on in an IPL season. He hasn’t started well so far this season, but you’d think the big knock is just around the corner. He slotted himself down to No. 4, mostly to give young Josh Phillipe a free license to attack in a big chase. It’s likely Kohli will slot back in at No. 3 against Mumbai Indians a position that has brought him 456 runs at an average of 35.07 and a SR of 132.17. since IPL 2017.
Hot Picks
Suryakumar Yadav: He’s been a heavy IPL scorer for a couple of seasons; his boundary-hitting ability in the Powerplay being a standout. Since IPL 2018, he has a boundary percentage of 77.43 in this period, which should translate into plenty of points for you. He also does this consistently. Since IPL 2018, he has crossed 30 plus on 15 occasions, including six half-centuries.
Quinton De Kock: His team’s most prolific batsman in IPL 2019, de Kock will be hungry to make a big impact. His strike rate in the first six overs since IPL 2018 is 131.96. Royal Challengers average an economy of 8.36 in this period since 2018.
AB De Villiers: He’s been in good touch, seems to have been striking them cleanly. He scored half-centuries in his last two outings against Mumbai Indians and averages 73 against them since 2018.
Differential Picks
Rahul Chahar: The leg spinner at has picked up three wickets so far at an economy of 7.75. Since IPL 2018,Royal Challengers have lost most wickets against legspin (42). So Chahar could have a big role to play here. Even in their second game, against Kings XI Punjab, Royal Challengers lost six wickets to legspin – three apiece to Ravi Bishnoi and M Ashwin.
Kieron Pollard: The surfaces in the UAE, especially in the two bigger grounds at Abu Dhabi and Sharjah, seem to be best suited for bowlers who keep varying their pace. Many may not pick Pollard as he bats lower down, but he could still be a handy prospect because of the overs Sharma can get out of him. This could fetch you extra points.
Alternate Scenarios
-
Teams batting first have won all four games so far in Dubai. Choose your captain from the team batting first.
-
Yuzvendra Chahal is a potential vice-captain option if Royal Challengers defend a score.
-
Since 2017 in all T20s, Bumrah vs Finch – 29 balls, 35 runs and two dismissals. If you feel Finch might get the better of Bumrah this time, replace Hardik with Finch given Hardik is only playing as a batsman currently.
-
If Mumbai are defending a score, you could possibly bring in James Pattinson for Rahul Chahar because of the dew factor.
Source: ESPN Crickinfo