Mumbai Indians vs Royal Challengers Bangalore Predictions: The winning team can go to the top half of the table

Playing in their eleventh game of the season Mumbai Indians will welcome Royal Challengers Bangalore in the 54th game of the season at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai on 9th May.

The Mumbai Indians suffered a setback in their latest match against the Chennai Super Kings, ending their winning streak after two victories. With ten points in the standings, they are in contention for a spot in the final four with teams like RCB, RR, and PBKS.

Rohit Sharma's poor form continues this season, as he was dismissed for a duck in the last match, his second in a row. This puts pressure on the other top-order batsmen like Ishan Kishan and Cameron Green. However, Suryakumar Yadav is starting to find his form, which is a positive sign for the team.

In the last match, Rohit Sharma was moved down the order, but he is likely to open in this game. Given his current form, we do not recommend selecting him. Meanwhile, Nehal Wadhera, Tim David, and Tilak Varma are in good form with the bat and could play crucial roles.

However, the Mumbai Indians' seam bowlers have struggled to maintain a good line and length and have been punished by the opposition on multiple occasions. Piyush Chawla has been the standout bowler with 17 wickets, but he has received little support from his teammates. Despite having a strong batting lineup, the Mumbai Indians must perform as a cohesive unit to secure a place in the top four.

The Wankhede surface could aid MI's strong batting lineup against RCB, which could prove to be their biggest weapon. Nonetheless, Cameron Green, Jofra Archer, and Arshad Khan have conceded close to 10 runs per over, highlighting the weakness in the Mumbai Indians' bowling attack. Other teams will undoubtedly try to exploit this vulnerability.

Rohit Sharma (c), Ishan Kishan (wk), Cameron Green, Suryakumar Yadav, Nehal Wadhera, Tristan Stubbs, Tim David, Arshad Khan, Jofra Archer, Piyush Chawla, Akash Madhwal

The Royal Challengers Bangalore have shown flashes of brilliance this season, but their lack of consistency has them sitting in fifth place on the league table.

The opening pair of Faf Du Plessis and Virat Kohli has been one of the most dependable duos in the tournament and have provided the team with some solid starts so far. Glen Maxwell has been good with the bat.

However, the lower-order batsmen have failed to build upon these solid starts regularly. This over-reliance on the top three batsmen has resulted in RCB losing several matches.

In the last game, Mahipal Lomror played a crucial knock of 50 runs, which should be a relief for the management. However, Dinesh Kartik, Anuj Rawat, and Suyash Prabhudessai have not had the season they would have hoped for, which means their entire middle order is under performing. Even the all-rounders, Shahbaz Ahmed and Wanindu Hasaranga are not firing and have struggled with the bat.

When it comes to bowling, Mohammed Siraj and Harshal Patel will lead the pace attack, while Karn Sharma and Hasaranga will handle the spin. The inclusion of Kedar Jadhav strengthens the team's bowling and provides additional depth to the batting lineup.

Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis (c), Mahipal Lomror, Glenn Maxwell, Anuj Rawat, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Kedar Jadhav, Wanindu Hasaranga, Karn Sharma, Mohammed Siraj, Josh Hazlewood

This pitch is renowned for being batting-friendly and has witnessed several high-scoring matches in the past. This season, the average score in the first innings is approximately 190 runs. As for the pitch conditions, it tends to be dry and offers limited assistance to fast bowlers, whereas spinners can expect some turn on the rough patches. The weather forecast suggests warm and humid conditions with the possibility of dew in the latter half of the match. We expect the team bowling first to win the game and both the teams are good chasers. Mumbai are expected to win the game at their home ground.