Who will win RCB vs MI IPL Match Today Prediction: Virat Kohli’s men look to put CSK drubbing behind

Two of the finest limited overs batsmen in Indian cricket – Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma – go head-to-head in what is expected to be a mouth-watering clash where the two franchises would look to put the opening round defeats behind them to bag their first win of the campaign. While MI suffered a beating at the hands of Delhi Capitals in their opening fixture, RCB were undone by Chennai Super Kings’ spin masterclass at MA Chidambaram stadium.

Although Kohli is once again aiming to break his IPL trophy duck and bag his first title as the captain of the Bengaluru franchise, he would be determined to bag his first home win of the season, against the three-time champions. If stats are to concern, however, RCB are in for a big challenge against Rohit’s MI.

The two teams have faced each other in the competition a total of 25 times, with Mumbai coming out on top on 16 occasions and Bengaluru just 9. The home advantage also comes into picture for the Royal Challengers as they have registered 7 of those 9 wins at the Chinnaswamy, with the Mumbai Indians winning just two.

The fixture, as expected, has Virat Kohli as the top-scoring batsman for RCB with 629 runs, while Kieron Pollard leads the charts for MI with 470 runs. The top-performing bowlers for the two sides are Vinay Kumar (12 wickets for RCB) and Harbhajan Singh (22 wickets for MI). However, both the players are no longer associated with the two franchises.

The previous season, Mumbai and Bengaluru both failed to finish in the playoffs and had hence faced each other only twice. With one win apiece in their respective home stadiums against each other, the scores ended level 1-1.

This season again the home advantage is expected to play a big role in deciding which team wins this epic battle. As for the first meeting at Chinnaswamy, RCB might just edge their opponents to bag their first victory of the season.