Ahead of his side's Indian Premier League (IPL) match against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), Mumbai Indians (MI) batter Tim David said that skipper Hardik Pandya is vital to their team and credited the star all-rounder for setting a platform with his 33-ball 39 in the previous match against Delhi Capitals (DC) for a fine finish by David and Romario Shepherd and expressed team's faith in Indian star's abilities.


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RCB and MI will be locking horns in a high-octane clash at Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium, which will be a battle between two of Indian cricket's biggest superstars, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. Both teams are searching for wins. While MI opened their account after three losses with a win over Delhi Capitals (DC), RCB aims to overcome a three-match losing streak, succumbing to Rajasthan Royals (RR) in their last encounter.


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Ahead of the match, David spoke in the post-match press conference that, "Hardik has been vital to our team. In the last match, we struggled hard for momentum towards the back end, and he (Hardik) played perfectly, which set the platform for Romario and me to go on with at the end. Hardik has been phenomenal for the team, which we need at some point."


"Sometimes it is me, and sometimes it is other guys. You could look at the first game, where Hardik hit two boundaries in his first two balls. So, we have complete faith in him. We know his power and how good he is, and when he gets into that situation, he will win games for us," he added. Tim said that Romario is in the side to finish the games on a high note. In the previous match, he scored 39* in 10 balls, including 32 in the final over by Anrich Nortje.


"This is why he (Romario) is here (to finish games); that is what he is on our team to do. At the stage, obviously, I would faced a few more balls, so I was at the start of the over and thinking I could get on strike and do some damage in the back end, and Romario hit the first ball for four. He said to me, ' Do you want the single? ' I said, 'Mate, you just hit a boundary, so go on'."


MI Vs RCB: Head-to-head


In their head-to-head matchups since 2020, RCB has maintained a dominant record against their Mumbai rivals, winning five out of seven contests. Particularly at the Wankhede Stadium, MI holds the upper hand with a lead of 7-3 over RCB.


Mumbai Pitch Report


Given the compact boundaries and a pitch favorable to batting, spectators can anticipate a high-scoring showdown. Both teams boast a lineup of high-profile and big-hitting players, hinting at a deluge of sixes throughout the match. Additionally, considering the potential impact of dew, the toss-winning captain might opt to field first to take advantage of the conditions.


Key battles


It will be important for Mumbai bowlers to get rid of Glenn Maxwell as soon as possible. The RCB batter strikes at 178.02 at the Wankhede stadium. Virat Kohli vs Piyush Chawla will be an exciting contest as the star batter struggles against leg-spin bowling. Jasprit Bumrah vs RCB top-order will be another huge match up as Bumrah likes bowling at Wankhede, having picked up 43 wickets in 37 games at the venue.


Weather forecast in Mumbai today


This is not yet a rainy season in Mumbai but it will be hot for sure. As per Accuweather, the temperature in Mumbai will be around 33 degree celcius and humidity will be between 55 to 60 percent. There is zero percent chance of rain in Mumbai today.


MI vs RCB LIVE Streaming details


The MI vs RCB clash in IPL 2024 will be available for free for live streaming in India. The TV broadcast of the match will be on Star Sports Network.


MI vs RCB: Probable Playing 11s


RCB Probable XI: Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis (c), Rajat Patidar, Glenn Maxwell, Cameron Green, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Saurav Chauhan, Reece Topley, Mayank Dagar, Mohammed Siraj, Yash Dayal [Impact Sub: Mahipal Lomror or Akash Deep].


MI Probable XI: Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya (c), Tim David, Mohammad Nabi, Romario Shepherd, Piyush Chawla, Gerald Coetzee, Jasprit Bumrah [Impact Sub: Akash Madhwal]


With inputs from ANI