IPL 2019: Can RCB carry winning momentum to Mumbai?

RCB skipper Virat Kohli. Pic/AFP

Tonight's Indian Premier League clash between Virat Kohli's Royal Challengers Bangalore and Rohit Sharma's Mumbai Indians (MI) at the Wankhede will be an interesting battle of man management between India's ODI captain and his deputy.

The skipper who makes the optimum use of the manpower at his disposal, will be the victor. Rohit, who has proved his mettle as a leader with three IPL trophies under his belt, goes into the match with the upperhand for firstly being on home turf and secondly having beaten RCB by six runs in Bangalore last month.

Though Kohli has enjoyed a lot of success leading the national team, as RCB captain he's had a tough time. His team have been nowhere close to landing the title in the last seven seasons. This season too has been poor so far as the Bangalore side are bottom placed with just one win from seven outings.

However, RCB's first win of the season on Saturday against Kings XI Punjab in Chandigarh could prove to be a turnaround for them. If Kohli (270 runs so far in this IPL), AB de Villiers (232), Parthiv Patel (191), Yuzvendra Chahal (11 wickets), Mohammed Siraj (6), Umesh Yadav (4) and the fiery South African pacer Dale Steyn (who is yet to play a part, having just arrived) can keep up the momentum, MI could be in trouble.

MI, on the other hand, are comfortably placed in the top three, with four wins to their credit. The in-form Quinton de Kock (238 runs), Kieron Pollard (185 runs) and Hardik Pandya (149 runs and 6 wickets) have been their key performers. Sri Lankan speedster Lasith Malinga may replace West Indian pacer Alzarri Joseph to strengthen the bowling attack against Kohli & Co's batting arsenal.

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