The Indian Premier League (IPL) returns home to a blockbuster opening match between defending champions Mumbai Indians and under-achievers Royal Challengers Bangalore at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on April 9. As last year, this IPL for now will be played in empty stadiums. IPL Full Schedule | RCB Team Preview | MI Team Preview
Although the dark clouds of covid and a nation going through a second wave of infections hangs large, fans can hope for a cracker of a match between two sides loaded with big hitters.
Both sides, and RCB more so, have topped up their batting and bowling departments in the auctions.
Apart from Chennai the other five neutral venues are Mumbai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Delhi and Bengaluru.
The eliminators, qualifiers and final will be hosted at the newly-inaugurated Narendra Modi Stadium in Motera, Ahmedabad.
The final will be played on May 30.
While RCB let go of South African all-rounder Chris Morris who went on to became the most expensive player in IPL history. He was bought for Rs 16.25 crore by Rajasthan Royals.
RCB did well to add Aussie all-rounder Glenn Maxwell and pacer Kyle Jamieson.
Many teams and international players are considering the league to be an ideal preparation for the upcoming T20 World Cup to be played in India later this year.
Rohit and Mumbai Indians, the most successful captain in the IPL with five titles, would like to pick up from where they left in UAE. And this is quite possible given the fact that the team has managed to keep their core intact.
Quinton de Kock, Ishan Kishan, Surya Kumar Yadav, Pandya brothers - Hardik and Krunal- and not to forget Kieron Pollard can tear any bowling attack apart.
With Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah and Rahul Chahar MI as a team can never be taken for granted.
Match details of Mumbai Indians Vs Royal Challengers Bangalore
Match: 1st Match of IPL MI vs RCB
When: 7:30 PM IST
Venue: M.A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai
Head-to-Head: Matches: 27, MI leads RCB with 17-9 wins. One match has finished tied with RCB winning in super over
Telecast and live streaming
Indian Premier League will be broadcast live on Star Sports 1, Star Sports 1 HD, Star Sports 3 and Star Sports 3 HD TV channels.
The matches can also been seen live on regional channels like Star Sports 1 Hindi, Star Sports 1 Hindi HD, Star Sports Tamil, Star Sports Telugu, Star Sports Kannada and Star Sports Bangla TV.
Live streaming: Disney+ Hotstar and Jio TV in India.
Likely XIs:
RCB: Virat Kohli (c), Devdutt Padikkal, AB de Villiers, Glenn Maxwell, Sachin Baby, Mohammed Azharudden, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kyle Jamieson, Mohammed Siraj, Finn Allen
MI: Rohit Sharma (C), Quinton de Kock, Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, Jayant Yadav,Trent Boult, Rahul Chahar, Kieron Pollard
Full Squads:
Mumbai Indians
Rohit Sharma (c), Adam Milne, Aditya Tare, Anmolpreet Singh, Anukul Roy, Arjun Tendulkar, Chris Lynn, Dhawal Kulkarni, Hardik Pandya, Ishan Kishan, James Neesham, Jasprit Bumrah, Jayant Yadav, Kieron Pollard, Krunal Pandya, Marco Jansen, Mohsin Khan, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Piyush Chawla, Quinton De Kock, Rahul Chahar, Saurabh Tiwary, Suryakumar Yadav, Trent Boult, Yudhvir Singh.
Royal Challengers Bangalore
Virat Kohli (c), AB de Villiers, Devdutt Padikkal, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mohammed Siraj, Kane Richardson, Washington Sundar, Pavan Deshpande, Finn Allen, Shahbaz Ahamad, Navdeep Saini, Adam Zampa, Kyle Jamieson, Glenn Maxwell, Rajat Patidar, Sachin Baby, Mohammed Azharuddeen, Daniel Christian, KS Bharat, Suyash Prabhudessai, Daniel Sams, Harshal Patel.
