Hardik Pandya won the flip of the coin at a sticky Wankhede and, with little hesitation, asked Royal Challengers Bengaluru to bat first. “We reckon the dew will roll in later,” the Mumbai Indians captain told host broadcaster Star Sports. “Chasing is usually the safer call here.”
Mumbai have tinkered again, bringing left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner straight back in for teenager AM Ghazanfar and pairing him with leg-spinner Mayank Markande, who replaces seamer Deepak Chahar. Pandya felt the extra spin option “gives us a bit of control through the middle”, while bowling coach Shane Bond noted in the build-up that Santner’s ability to hold one end could free up Jasprit Bumrah for shorter, sharper bursts.
RCB skipper-for-the-day Rajat Patidar admitted he would also have liked to chase. “But 20 overs of good cricket sets the tone. The surface looks decent,” he said. Bengaluru have reacted to their defence of 200-plus going sideways last time by resting Josh Hazlewood, who leaked 44 from his four. New-Zealander Jacob Duffy comes in for a first outing this season. Spin-all-rounder Abhinandan Singh drops out of the substitutes list, hinting that one of the quicks – Rasikh Dar or rookie Mangesh Yadav – could be held back as an Impact option.
Former India opener Sanjay Manjrekar, on commentary duty, felt Hazlewood’s omission was “more about freshness than form”, pointing out that the Australian had only just shaken off an ankle niggle. “Duffy swings it, though, so the new ball could still bite,” Manjrekar added.
Teams
Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Phil Salt (wk), Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar (capt), Tim David, Jitesh Sharma, Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jacob Duffy, Suyash Sharma
Impact bench: Jacob Bethell, Venkatesh Iyer, Rasikh Dar, Swapnil Singh, Mangesh Yadav
Mumbai Indians: Ryan Rickelton (wk), Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya (capt), Naman Dhir, Mitchell Santner, Shardul Thakur, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah, Mayank Markande
Impact bench: Sherfane Rutherford, Ashwani Kumar, Corbin Bosch, Raghu Sharma, Raj Bawa
Tactics watch
• Santner v Kohli could be key early on. The left-arm spinner angles the ball across the right-hander, tempting the cover drive – a stroke that has cost Kohli twice in three innings this year.
• Duffy tends to nip it back at speed. With Rohit Sharma still feeling for rhythm, the new-ball duel could tilt the power-play.
Numbers to note
8 – Straight successful chases at the Wankhede in evening fixtures before tonight.
2.5 – Bumrah’s economy in the death overs this season; no other bowler sits under six.
With both sides sitting in mid-table traffic, the margin for error shrinks. “We’ve had patches of brilliance, patches we’d rather forget,” Pandya summed up on the eve of the game. Fans will hope a little Wankhede dew and some fresh combinations finally smooth those bumps out.
