AB de Villiers has notched 726 runs against MI at an average and strike rate of 45.38 and 146.08 respectively.

Nearly five months since the 2020 final, the Indian Premier League (IPL) is again set to take center stage. Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, Mumbai Indians (MI) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) will be commencing proceedings on Friday at the MA Chidambaram Stadium.

Both teams have had their fair share of troubles. RCB’s Daniel Sams and Devdutt Padikkal fell prey to coronavirus. Even as Padikkal is back on the field, Sams is yet to recover. Adam Zampa won’t be available for the opener either.

In the MI dugout, Quinton de Kock might not feature in the opening game due to quarantine rules after returning midway from South Africa’s ODIs against Pakistan. But keeping in mind that they are the five-time champions, Mumbai can be said to have the upper hand, though not a whole lot.

Match – Mumbai Indians vs Royal Challengers Bangalore – 1st match

Venue – MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai

Time – 7:30 PM IST, 02:00 PM GMT

Where to watch live – Star Sports Network, Hotstar

The pitch at the Chepauk has assisted the spinners to a great extent over the years. Batting may not be all that easy. Fielding first and knowing how the pitch behaves should be the way forward for the teams. The temperature will be around 31 degrees Celsius with the humidity mostly in the 60s. There’s no chance of a downpour.

Avg score: 146 (8 T20s at the Chepauk in IPL 2019)

Record of chasing teams: Won – 4, Lost – 4, NR – 0

Rohit Sharma (C), Chris Lynn, Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan (wk), Kieron Pollard, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Nathan Coulter Nile/Piyush Chawla, Rahul Chahar, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah

Bench: Anmolpreet Singh, Saurabh Tiwary, Anukul Roy, James Neesham, Arjun Tendulkar, Marco Jansen, Piyush Chawla/Nathan Coulter Nile, Aditya Tare, Jayant Yadav, Yudhvir Singh, Adam Milne, Dhawal Kulkarni, Mohsin Khan, Quinton de Kock

Devdutt Padikkal, Virat Kohli (C), AB de Villiers (wk), Glenn Maxwell, Rajat Patidar/Mohammad Azharuddeen, Sachin Baby/Suyash Prabhudessai, Daniel Christian, Washington Sundar, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kyle Jamieson/Kane Richardson

Bench: Suyash Prabhudessai/Sachin Baby, Pavan Deshpande, Rajat Patidar/Mohammad Azharuddeen, Daniel Sams, Shahbaz Ahmed, Finn Allen, KS Bharat, Harshal Patel, Kyle Jamieson/Kane Richardson, Navdeep Saini, Adam Zampa

Played – 29 | Mumbai Indians – 19 | Royal Challengers Bangalore – 10 |N/R – 0

Played – 10 | Mumbai Indians – 5 | Royal Challengers Bangalore – 5 |N/R – 0

AB de Villiers has a fondness for Mumbai’s bowling lineup. In 23 matches, the former Proteas batter has notched 726 runs at an average and strike rate of 45.38 and 146.08 respectively. His IPL top score of an unbeaten 133 also came against MI. If the veteran gets going, he can wreak havoc in the opposition camp.

Jasprit Bumrah– Mumbai Indians

Jasprit Bumrah has more than impressive numbers while playing against the Challengers. In 58 overs, the speedster has picked up 19 wickets- the most he has gotten versus any opponent. His economy of 7.55 is also pretty understandable, bearing in mind that he bowls in the powerplay and at the death.

Today's match prediction :-The team batting second to win the match.