On April 2, the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) will kick off their campaign in the 16th Indian Premier League (IPL) with an exciting home fixture against the Mumbai Indians at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore. The highly anticipated match between two star-studded teams will be led by Faf du Plessis, who will captain the RCB in their quest for their first IPL title.
Despite having five IPL trophies in their cabinet, Mumbai Indians had a nightmarish journey last season, finishing at the bottom of the table with only 4 victories in 14 league games. In contrast, Royal Challengers Bangalore finished third in the IPL 2022 standings. They won the Eliminator against Lucknow Super Giants but fell short against Rajasthan Royals in the second Qualifier.
Despite Mumbai’s overwhelming dominance over the Challengers, the encounters between the two teams have been the most entertaining. Out of 32 encounters to date, Mumbai Indians have won 19, while Royal Challengers have won 13.
In the TATA IPL 2023, Faf du Plessis will be leading the Royal Challengers Bangalore, whereas Suryakumar Yadav might be appointed as the temporary captain of Mumbai Indians, since Rohit Sharma might not be available for the selection of today’s match.
Also Read: RCB vs MI: Stats not enough to predict who will win the match on April 2; Fans confused
IPL 2023 RCB vs MI: Injury Updates for Today’s Match
Royal Challengers Bangalore
Royal Challengers Bangalore is facing injury concerns as Josh Hazlewood will be absent in the first half of the season due to his Achilles injury. Additionally, there are doubts about Glenn Maxwell’s availability in the opening game as Wanindu Hasaranga is engaged with national duties in the series against New Zealand.
RCB Squad for IPL 2023:
Faf du Plessis (c), Virat Kohli, Mohammad Siraj, Harshal Patel, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Shahbaz Ahmed, Anuj Rawat, Akash Deep, Mahipal Lomror, Finn Allen, Suyash Prabhudesai, Karn Sharma, Siddarth Kaul, David Willey, Reece Topley, Himanshu Sharma, Manoj Bhandage, Rajan Kumar, Avinash Singh, Sonu Yadav, Michael Bracewell.
RCB are yet to win their maiden IPL title. However they came closer four more times after that when they reached the playoffs. Recently, in IPL 2016 they played a final against SRH, where they emerged as the runner-ups of the same session.
Mumbai Indians
Mumbai Indians’ ace bowler Jasprit Bumrah has been ruled out of the entire IPL 2023 season due to a back injury. Sandeep Warrier has been brought in as his replacement. On the other hand, Jofra Archer is all set to make a comeback for the franchise after missing the entire IPL 2022 season due to an elbow injury. However, fans will miss the much-awaited Archer-Bumrah bowling combination this season.
MI Squad for IPL 2023:
Rohit Sharma (c), Suryakumar Yadav, Tim David, Dewald Brevis, Tilak Varma, Ishan Kishan (wk), Tristan Stubbs, Vishnu Vinod, Cameron Green, Arjun Tendulkar, Ramandeep Singh, Shams Mulani, Nehal Wadhera, Hrithik Shokeen, Arshad Khan, Duan Jansen, Piyush Chawla, Kumar Kartikeya, Raghav Goyal, Jofra Archer, Jason Behrendorff, Akash Madhwal.
MI have won their maiden IPL title in the year 2013. And since then there have been no looking back. They have been the most successful IPL team with 5 IPL Titles to their name. However, last season was the worst for them as they finished last in the points table. Recently, in IPL 2020 they played a final against DC, where they emerged as the winners of the same session.
Both teams will be aiming to showcase their best performance in the TATA IPL 2023 as the match kicks off at 7:30 PM IST.