IPL 2020 Match 48 MI v RCB Betting Preview

Match Details
Mumbai Indians v Royal Challengers Bangalore
Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Wednesday, October 28th 2020
16:00 SA Time

IPL 2020: Match 48 – Mumbai Indians v Royal Challengers Bangalore Preview, Prediction, Probable Playing XI and Value bets.

Betting Preview

It’s the last week of the league stage and the two top-placed teams, Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore battle it out in Match 48. This is another big game as playoffs qualification are up for grabs with both teams tied on 14 points. The team that wins this match will book a spot in the top four.

Mumbai Indians seemed to be on a roll and looked almost unstoppable at one stage have now hit some roadblocks. In their last three matches, MI have suffered two losses, one in the Super Over against Kings XI Punjab and another against Rajasthan Royals. While the batting has been good, the bowling has struggled a touch failing to defend 176 and 195.

MI’s three out of the four losses this season, including two in the normal game have come while defending. Despite the absence of Rohit Sharma at the top, MI are pretty well covered and overall, the four-time champions look well-rounded and one of the most complete sides in this competition. Hence, they will be desperate to get back to winning ways and seal a spot in the playoffs.

Royal Challengers Bangalore also hit a mini roadblock in the form of Chennai Super Kings (CSK) as the latter handed them a defeat in their last match. While the batting never took off, it was the bowling who failed to adapt and they paid the price. However, for the most of this tournament, RCB have been excellent in all three departments. The bowling, in particular, has been the one that has stood out and has helped the three-time finalists surge ahead. Every time RCB have suffered a loss this season, they have come storming back and they will be hoping they can do the same against a strong MI side.

RCB have won both their games at Abu Dhabi while MI have won five out of their seven games at the same venue. Hence, we have a mouth-watering contest in store.

Injury and Availability News

There is a lot of speculation around Rohit Sharma’s fitness. The MI skipper missed the last two games due to a hamstring injury and there are reports that he may be ruled out of the tournament. Meanwhile, Navdeep Saini split his webbing on the right hand in the last game and is a doubtful starter for this game.

Probable Playing XI

Mumbai Indians

Quinton de Kock (wk), Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, Saurabh Tiwary, Hardik Pandya, Kieron Pollard (c), Krunal Pandya, James Pattinson, Rahul Chahar, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah

Royal Challengers Bangalore

Devdutt Padikkal, Aaron Finch, Virat Kohli (c), AB de Villiers (wk), Moeen Ali/Isuru Udana, Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Chris Morris, Washington Sundar, Umesh Yadav/Navdeep Saini, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal

Key Players to watch out for

AB de Villiers: The retired South African superstar has been in prime form this season for RCB. He has scored 324 runs at a strike-rate of 174.19 and has registered four match-winning half-centuries, including one against MI. In fact, de Villiers has a superb record against MI and has amassed 711 runs at an average of 47.40 and a strike-rate of 146.59 against them.

Kieron Pollard: The stand-in MI skipper just takes his game to another level when he is captaining the side. Moreover, RCB is one of his favourite sides in the IPL. Pollard has scored 533 runs at an average of 41.00 and a strike-rate of 166.56. Pollard smashed a stunning unbeaten 60 to help MI tie the game against RCB earlier this season and that too, from an almost improbable situation.

Yuzvendra Chahal: The Haryana leg-spinner has been RCB’s best bowler for a few years now and has been one of the keys to success this season. Chahal has picked up 16 wickets this season and has been used as a strike bowler by Kohli. His batting against Pollard will be the one to watch out for.

Value Betting

Mumbai Indians

Quinton de Kock to be MI’s top batsman at 2.25.

Jasprit Bumrah to be MI’s top bowler at 1.90.

Royal Challengers Bangalore

Virat Kohli to be RCB’s top batsman at 2.25.

Yuzvendra Chahal to be RCB’s top bowler at 1.80.

Prediction: Mumbai Indians to win at 0.76.