Royal Challengers Bangalore will take on the Mumbai Indians in match 18 of IPL 2022. The game will be held at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune.
RCB, led by new captain Faf du Plessis, are currently placed fifth in the points table with two wins in three games. They started the season with a loss to the Punjab Kings, but bounced back to win the next two games against Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals respectively.
In their most recent game against the Royals, RCB chased down 169 runs with five balls to spare. But it can be noted that if not for a late cameo by Shahbaz Ahmed and Dinesh Karthik, RCB were almost out of the contest. Shahbaz scored 45 off 26 and Karthik remained unbeaten on 44 off 23 after the top and middle order failed.
Five time champions Mumbai Indians, on the other hand, are placed ninth in the points table after losing all their first three games. They lost their first game to Delhi Capitals by four wickets, followed by a 23-run loss to Rajasthan Royals and a five-wicket loss to KKR.
Going by how both RCB and MI have performed thus far, the momentum will definitely be by RCB’s side. But Mumbai Indians have a solid squad and if the big names live up to expectations, we can expect an exciting game of cricket in match 18.
Playing XIs
Royal Challengers Bangalore
Faf du Plessis (c), Anuj Rawat, Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell, Dinesh Karthik (wk), David Willey, Shahbaz Ahmed, Wanindu Hasaranga, Harshal Patel, Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj
Mumbai Indians
Rohit Sharma (c), Ishan Kishan (wk), Dewald Brevis, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Kieron Pollard, Fabian Allen/Daniel Sams, Murugan Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Tymal Mills, Basil Thampi
Image credit: IPL
