MI vs RCB, Match Preview: Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma In IPL's Opening Duel

Cricket Image for MI vs RCB, Match Preview: Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma In IPL's Opening Duel (Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma (Image Source: Google))

Mumbai Indians (MI), looking to win their sixth Indian Premier League (IPL) title and complete a hat-trick of titles will face Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), who are yet to win a title, in the inaugural game of the Indian Premier League 2021, here on Friday night.

The battle will be between two of India's finest white-ball players. Both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are among the best international batsmen in white-ball cricket and are India's most experienced players. While Sharma will lead MI, Kohli will lead RCB.

On paper, MI is like a well-oiled machine. The players have been around for years and have tasted success. They know the formula needed to get success.

RCB, on the other hand, has always struggled to get their combination right. Often, their middle-order batting has been found wanting while their pace bowling has lacked variety.

Last year though, they did well to make it to the playoffs and for this year, they have brought in some impact players like hard-hitter Glenn Maxwell and express pace bowler Kyle Jamieson, who can also provide a hard-hitting option at the end.

MI has won almost double the number of games played between the two teams over the years. While MI has won 17 matches, RCB has won just 9 matches.

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