RCB vs MI Match Prediction & Betting Tips - May 01, 2018

The Royal Challengers Bangalore and the Mumbai Indians have both had a poor IPL season this year and find themselves in a position where they cannot afford to lose more than a couple of matches. Fans of both teams will know that their teams have been here in the past and been able to turn things around but it is obviously not going to happen every single time.

RCB lost its last match against KKR and continued to struggle in the bowling and fielding department while Mumbai Indians recorded a very impressive victory against the Chennai Super Kings and will come into this match full of confidence.

One thing is certain, though. The tournament is going to be all but over for one team after this match has been completed.

RCB vs MI Team Previews

Royal Challengers Bangalore

A struggling RCB unit was forced to take the field without AB de Villiers in their last match and Virat Kohli would be desperate to have his best player back for this next match. Brendon McCullum made a comeback into the eleven but did not have too much of an impact.

It is difficult for a player like Brendon McCullum to be expected to perform after being on the bench for so long but that is the format of this tournament. Now, with de Villiers hopefully making a comeback, McCullum might just find himself out of the team once again.

The surface in Bengaluru has not been the kind that Virat Kohli would prefer but that is something out of his control.

At the moment, it appears that ensuring Kohli and de Villiers play the maximum amount of deliveries in every match is the only way that RCB will find itself in a position to push for a win. The role of Quinton de Kock at the top of the order is also something that will come under scrutiny. He has now spent a lot of time in the middle but is not being able to get the blazing starts that he is so famous for.

Maybe picking McCullum over Colin de Grandhomme could also be an option since going hard in the latter overs is currently seeming very difficult.

To be honest, though, the batting is not a concern for RCB at the moment. Virat Kohli said that he thought his team was 10 runs over par in the last match and then failed to defend it once again.

RCB is being let down by its bowling in every single match and that is a problem to which they have no easy answers. Tim Southee has been expensive, Umesh Yadav veers from being sublime to the ridiculous, and Mohammad Siraj clearly has a long way to go before being considered the finished article.

Only Yuzvendra Chahal has been consistent. On a surface where appreciable spin is fast becoming a characteristic, not having two or even three world quality spinners is appearing to be a major strategic error that RCB is paying for.

RCB will need its bowlers to step up against a power Mumbai Indians lineup otherwise their matches will continue to follow the same path in most matches.

Royal Challengers Bangalore Playing 11

Quinton de Kock, Brendon McCullum, V Kohli, M Vohra, Colin de Grandhomme, M Singh, Washington Sundar, TG Southee, YS Chahal, M Siraj, Umesh Yadav.


Mumbai Indians

Two massive innings from Rohit Sharma has equated to two victories for the Mumbai Indians so far. Is that a coincidence? We don’t think so.

The Mumbai Indians got a lot of things right in their last match and we think they may have finally hit on their best playing eleven and batting order.

Evin Lewis and Suryakumar Yadav have earned a prolonged run at the top of the order. They have both scored plenty of runs and have excellent strike rates. The move to push Rohit Sharma to 3, though, is a very good decision.

Rohit Sharma has the rare talent to score big runs in all formats of the game but needs a little bit of time to settle down. By coming in at 3, not only will Rohit Sharma give himself the time but he will also be able to control the pace of the inning after getting set.

Equally importantly, Mumbai Indians finally dropped Kieron Pollard from the team and got in JP Duminy. The South African is in excellent form, can bat anywhere in the lineup and is also a handy off-spinner.

If the pitch in Bangalore takes turn as it has been then Duminy becomes a very important player in the bowling unit as well.

The other major change that Mumbai Indians made was to drop Mustafizur Rahman in favor of Ben Cutting. We are huge fans of Cutting and believes he is an extremely underrated lower order hitter. His bowling has not been as good as he would like it to be but that could change going forward.

His selection for the match in Bengaluru is far from certain, though. Mustafizur Rahman and his unique brand of fast cutters and slower deliveries could be very difficult to hit at the Chinnaswamy and so we don’t think playing him would be a mistake.

Mumbai Indians were one of the pre-tournament favorites because of their seemingly perfectly balanced team. They now seem to have figured out the right mix of players to bank on going forward and we are definitely backing their fortunes to improve dramatically in this edition of the IPL.

One of the head to head contests that we will be watching out for will be Krunal Pandya against AB de Villiers. The elder Pandya sibling has dismissed de Villiers in every match that he has had the opportunity to bowl at him.

De Villiers will know this and come hard at him. This could be one of the key events that determine the outcome of the match.

Also, young Mayank Markande from Mumbai has been having an excellent IPL so far. How he goes on a helpful wicket with small boundaries with a senior Indian spinner in the opposition will also be very interesting to watch.

Mumbai Indians Playing 11

SA Yadav, Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Jean-Paul Duminy, Hardik Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Krunal Pandya, Mayank Markande, Ben Cutting, JJ Bumrah, MJ Mcclenaghan.

RCB vs MI Toss Prediction

The team winning the toss is likely to field first

Read our guide on toss predictions to learn how we analyze and come up with our tips.

Pitch and Conditions

There has been some rain around in Bengaluru and a few showers are expected to interrupt this match as well. The overall forecast is excellent, however, and we think we should be able to get a full match in.

The pitch at the Chinnaswamy stadium has started to take plenty of turn and we think that is not going to change. Scores of around 160-170 should be considered par. Chasing seems to the order of the day because of the small dimensions of the stadium.

RCB vs MI Betting Tips

RCB has lost the last five matches that it has played against the Mumbai Indians. Both teams may be in a similar position on the league table but we think the Mumbai Indians are in a much better space right now.

Back the Mumbai Indians to win.

Today Match Prediction

Mumbai Indians To Win the Match, 2.00

Bet Tip Here

Who will win RCB vs MI

Royal Challengers Bangalore 50.0% (0)
Mumbai Indians 50.0% (0)
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