Match: Mumbai Indians v Royal Callengers Bangalore
Date: 9th April 2021
Time: 7.30 PM India
Stadium: ?
What you will find on this preview
Mumbai stats and form
RCB stats and form
Head to head stats
MI v RCB prediction
Dream 11 selections
Match questions?
Trends & Recent Form
The 2021 IPL gets underway with last years champions, Mumbai Indians, taking on the Royal Challengers. This year’s IPL is all played at neutral grounds meaning no home advantage for any time, which could throw up a more open tournament.
Mumbai Indians form
Last year: Winners
Last years record:
- Played: 14
- Won: 9
- Lost: 5
- Net Run Rate: +1.107
Top players (2020)
Top Batsman: Ishan Kishan
- Total runs: 516
- Average: 56.33
- High score: 99
Top Bowler: Jasprit Bumrah
- Total wickets: 27
- Total overs: 60
- Economy: 6.73
- Best figures: 4/14
“Mumbai Indians are the favourites for the IPL again this year. The lack of home matches will be a factor for them this year as they will have to play on slower pitches and this could impact their pace bowling attack.”
Arjun Reddy
Head of Indian Cricket Content
Mumbai Indians latest stats and trends
- The Mumbai Indians do not win their opening fixtures. They have now lost every one since 2014 after losing to CSK in IPL2020.
- Their biggest purchase in the Auction was Australian Nathan Coulter-Nile who’s played for more than half the teams in the IPL!
- Piyush Chawla was also added to the side as an extra spinner with some experience of the IPL. He adds something to the squad and is the third-highest wicket-taker of all time in the IPL.
- The Mumbai Indians squad is the most complete squad of all this year. They have an enable strength in depth that others don’t and will be aiming for their 5th title.
- Prediction: Mumbai Indians will top the group and lose in the knock out stages. We do not think they will make the final this year.
Royal Challengers Bangalore form
2020 Position: 4th of 8
Record:
- Played: 14
- Won: 7
- Lost: 7
- Net Run Rate: -0.172
2020 Top players
Top Batsman: Devdutt Padikkal
- Total runs: 473
- Average: 31.53
- High score: 74
Top Bowler: Yuzvendra Chahal
- Total wickets: 21
- Total overs: 57.1
- Economy: 7.08
- Best figures: 3/18
“I think the Challengers had the best auction in 2021. The addition of Maxwell and Jamieson takes them up another level in my opinion. They are the team to watch this year.”
Arjun Reddy
Head of Indian Cricket Content
Latest stats and trends
- In the build-up to the 2021 IPL new signing Dan Christian says this is the year RCB wins the IPL!
- They bought well at the auction adding the experienced all-rounder Glen Maxwell for 14.25 Crore. That price was topped by New Zealand’s Kyle Jamieson who was landed for 15 Crore in the auction.
- Devdutt Padikkal comes into the tournament on the back of an excellent Vijay Hazare trophy where he was the second highest run scorer with an average of 147.4.
Head to head stats
2020 results
- Match 10: RCB won in a super over
- Match 48: Mumbai wins by 5 wickets
All-time
- Mumbai Indians won 17
- Royal Challengers Bangalore won 10
- No matches with no result
- 1 RCB win was in a super over
Match Prediction & Tips
Match Prediction: Royal Challengers to win at 6/5*
We think this could be the year for RCB. They have bought well at the auction and had a strong team already. Maxwell is a good signing despite struggling in the IPL2020 and has been playing well again for Australia. He will need to be at his best if RCB is to challenge but he seems to thrive with stronger players around him.
As mentioned above the Mumbai Indians have not won their opening match since 2014, a run of 8 tournaments and the longest of any team in the IPL. We are always happy to take teams on with stats like that.
Betting picks
There is a wide range of markets on offer for this match. We have made 2 extra elections for our betting picks*.
- Pick 1: Virat Kohli over 2.5 4s 4/5*
This is an interesting market for us as it offers some good value if you can pick the right players. If Kohli gets any sort of score in this game then you would strongly expect him to pick up some boundaries. Kohli is also 2/1 to score a half century.
- Pick 2: H Pandya player of the match 10/1*
An excellent player who has been in fantastic form in the T20 series against England. A smaller stake is recommended as this is a difficult market to call.
Dream 11 Selections
Here are some of our selections and players to watch for Dream 11 fantasy cricket.
- Captain: Devdutt Padikkal
Comes into the IPL in good form and will be looking to impress from the off. He’s one we like for the captain as he’s a bit of an outsider rather than going for the standard players.
- Vice-captain: Hardik Pandya
What a T20 and ODI Pandya had against England. Comes to this years IPL carrying some excellent form and will be brimming with confidence.
Players to watch:
The players to watch is a who’s who of cricket. Depending on the price and how they line up this could be a tough pick for our Dream 11 selections!
Mumbai Indians players
- Rohit Sharma
- Ishan Kishan
- Krunal Pandya
- Suryakumar Yadav
Royal Challengers players
- Virat Kohli
- Dan Christian
- Kane Richardson
- Josh Phillipe
Match questions?
Who will win the opening IPL game between Mumbai and Bangalore?
We think that the Royal Challengers will win this match.
When is Mumbai Indians v Royal Challengers Bangalore?
This game is on the 9th of April and starts at 7.30 PM.
*Odds & Responsible gambling
All odds that appear are subject to change at any time. They are correct as stated at the time of publishing the article and are taken from various betting sites in India.
Please gamble responsibly, no tips or bets are guaranteed to win. Do not bet more than you can afford to lose. For help with problem gambling please visit gamblingtherapy.org.
Like this preview? why not share it?
Share on facebook
Facebook
Share on twitter
Twitter
Share on linkedin
LinkedIn
Share on pinterest
Pinterest
Share on tumblr
Tumblr
Share on reddit
Reddit
Here are some other previews you may like