Preview: Fan-favourites Royal Challengers Bangalore take on powerhouse Mumbai Indians

Royal Challengers Bangalore and Mumbai Indians will begin their IPL 2023 campaign on 2nd April, Sunday at the M. Chinnaswamy stadium in Bangalore.

The fifth match of the Indian Premier League 2023 will witness a face-off between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Mumbai Indians on April 2, Sunday, at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore. Both teams will be eager to begin their campaign with a victory, having missed out on winning the trophy last year.

RCB made it to the playoffs in the previous season but missed out on the final. Meanwhile, Mumbai Indians had their worst season, finishing last. Unfortunately, both sides will be without some of their key players in the upcoming game. Josh Hazlewood will not feature for RCB in the first half of the tournament, whereas Mumbai Indians will miss the services of Jasprit Bumrah entire season.

RCB Vs MI: Pitch Report

The pitch at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru is favorable for the batsmen, with power hitters expected to relish playing on it. The ball usually comes on nicely to the bat, providing a good opportunity for the batters to score big. On the other hand, the bowlers, whether spinners or pacers, will need to maintain their line and length to extract the most from the surface.

RCB Vs MI: Teams News

Royal Challengers Bangalore have faced two significant blows even before their opening match in the Indian Premier League 2023. Key players Glenn Maxwell and Josh Hazlewood will not be available for the team's first game. While Josh Hazlewood is likely to miss a major chunk of the season due to his achilles injury, Maxwell on the other hand should be back in a couple of games.

On the other hand, Mumbai Indians have faced a major setback as Jasprit Bumrah (due to back surgery) and Jhye Richardson (due to hamstring surgery) will not be available for the entire Indian Premier League season.

RCB Vs MI: Head to Head

Matches: 30Royal Challengers Bangalore: 13Mumbai Indians: 17Draws: 0

RCB Vs MI: Player to Watch

Royal Challengers Bangalore: Virat Kohli

The Indian talisman has been in sensational form as of late and his franchise will hope that the player can repeat his heroics from 2016 and take the tournament by storm. If Virat Kohli starts firing from the early get-go, there is no stopping RCB.

Mumbai Indians: Suryakumar Yadav

Although Suryakumar Yadav faced difficulties in the recent ODI series against Australia, he remains a force to be reckoned with in the T20 format, earning the nickname "Mr. 360". His performance in the middle order will be crucial to the success of the Mumbai Indians this season. Suryakumar Yadav aims to redefine himself in this edition of the tournament.

RCB Vs MI: Probable Playing XIs

Royal Challengers Bangalore Probable Playing XI: Faf du Plessis (c), Virat Kohli, Suyash Prabhudessai, Mahipal Lomror, Glenn Maxwell, Michael Bracewell, Shahbaz Ahmed, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Reece Topley, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Siraj

Mumbai Indians Playing XI: Rohit Sharma (c), Ishan Kishan, Cameron Green, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Tim David, Hrithik Shokeen, Kumar Kartikeya, Jofra Archer, Arshad Khan, and Jason Behrendorff

RCB Vs MI: Live Broadcasting

IND: Star Sports Network (TV) | JioCinema (Live Streaming)UK: DAZNAUS: Fox Sports, Kayo Sports

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