What

Match 12 of VIVO IPL 2017 will see two popular sides – Royal Challengers Bangalore and Mumbai Indians – come up against each other.

Royal Challengers Bangalore received a major boost when captain Virat Kohli was declared fit to play. The RCB skipper missed the first three matches recuperating the shoulder he injured in the Test series prior to the IPL season; in his absence, RCB, captained by Shane Watson, won only one of three matches. On the eve of the match, the RCB skipper indicated that Chris Gayle, who was benched in the previous match, was available for selection; Virat said, “Gayle has been a priority for us. In Bangalore, we would go with the strongest XI and Gayle is a strong contender.”

If Gayle makes the XI, then RCB - with Virat back in the mix, and AB de Villiers also back in the ranks – will be a formidable batting line-up.

Mumbai Indians began the season with a defeat to Rising Pune Supergiant, before notching up two thrilling wins. In their most-recent outing on Wednesday night, they chased down 159 against the defending champions. In Nitish Rana, Krunal Pandya and Hardik Pandya, MI have three explosive batsmen and match-winners in the middle order. The captain Rohit Sharma has been dismissed for three poor scores; his footwork has looked tentative and he has been dismissed by spin bowlers on each of the three occasions. Apart from runs from the captain, the one other area that presents a worry to the MI management should be the form of Mitchell McClenaghan, who has conceded 51 and 42 runs in his four-over spells in the last two matches. MI have the experienced Mitchell Johnson and the Sri Lankan Asela Gunaratne waiting in the wings, and might be tempted to give either of them a go.

When

14 April 2017, 1600 Hrs IST

Where

M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru

The Protagonists

There’s a likelihood that this match will feature three of the top six run-getter in the IPL. Virat Kohli (4110) needs 62 runs to clinch back from Suresh Raina the title of being the top run-getter in the IPL; the RCB skipper struck a few crisply in the nets on the eve of the match, and should be hungry to make up for the matches he missed. Chris Gayle and AB de Villiers are the other batsmen in the RCB line-up to keep a watch on.

In the Mumbai Indians ranks, keep an eye on Rohit Sharma (third highest run-getter in the IPL), who is due for runs. The MI skipper is known to be a slow starter, but once he starts to get a few in the middle, he can be ruthless and can run away with the match.

Among the rest, Kedar Jadhav (RCB), Nitish Rana and the Pandya brothers – Hardik and Krunal – have entertained and will look to build on the reputation they have established.

Match within the match

Lasith Malinga bowling to Chris Gayle and AB de Villiers promises to make for interesting viewing; Gayle has been rather quiet against Malinga, scoring at a strike-rate of 73.43, while de Villiers has scored at a strike-rate of 169.04.

Head to Head

Overall: Matches – 19, RCB Won – 8, MI Won – 11

In Bengaluru: Matches – 7, RCB Won – 1, MI Won – 6

Trivia

Virat Kohli was the top run-getter in IPL 2016; he scored 973 runs in 16 matches. Mumbai Indians was the only team against who he did not score a half-century in the season.

Chris Gayle is 25 runs shy of becoming the first batsman to score 10000 runs in T20 cricket.

The RCB batsman Shane Watson seems to have a weakness against left-arm bowlers; his last six dismissals in the IPL have all been against a left-arm bowler. In his two most-recent innings, the Australian was dismissed by the left-arm spinners Shahbaz Nadeem and Axar Patel.

Chris Gayle and Kieron Pollard are the two-most prolific six-hitters in T20 cricket; Gayle sits top of the list with 735 sixes, while Kieron Pollard has the second-most sixes – 451.

What Next

For Mumbai Indians: Home Fixture against Gujarat Lions, 4pm on April 16

For Royal Challengers Bangalore: Home Fixture against Rising Pune Supergiant, 8pm on April 16