Rohit-Kohli showdown headlines marquee Sunday fixture

It's Ro-Ko time in the IPL. Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli remain box office, as compelling as rivals as they are as teammates, and this promises to be a blockbuster contest on Sunday night in Mumbai.

A clash between Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bengaluru is always a mouth-watering one. The new Ro-Ko factor adds a new dimension to the contest, with both sides coming off a defeat to Rajasthan Royals in their respective last matches.

Both Rohit and Kohli have made reasonably good starts to the season, each scoring a half-century in the three matches their sides have played. Their teams' fortunes will depend on the starts they provide upfront.

MI batting coach Kieron Pollard played down the individual focus: "I look at it as Mumbai Indians versus Royal Challengers Bengaluru, and let the individuals enjoy this phase of their careers."

One individual is difficult to ignore. Jasprit Bumrah has looked off-colour, with no wickets so far this season. He is wicketless in his last four IPL games.

Pollard on Bumrah's form: "For us, he's fine – he's fit, he's firing. And for your sake, I hope he gets five wickets tomorrow."

It is a vital fixture for both teams, more so for the home side, who broke a 13-year jinx of losing opening matches, only to drop the next two.

When: MI vs RCB, April 12 at 7:30 PM IST
Where: Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
What to expect: A high-scoring contest. Totals in excess of 200 are very much on the cards.
Head to head: MI 19 – 15 RCB. MI have won six of the last seven contests vs RCB at the Wankhede.

Team News & Tactics

Mumbai Indians

• Injuries/Unavailabilities: Mitchell Santner, who missed the previous match, is available.
• Tactics & Match-ups: MI may manage Jasprit Bumrah's overs carefully with RCB's Devdutt Padikkal and Tim David in mind. Bumrah enjoys a favourable match-up against Padikkal.
• Probable XII: Rohit Sharma, Ryan Rickelton (wk), Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya (c), Naman Dhir, Sherfane Rutherford, Mitchell Santner, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah

Royal Challengers Bengaluru

• Injuries/Unavailabilities: No injury concerns reported. All players expected to be available.
• Tactics & Match-ups: Jacob Bethell in place of Phil Salt is a probable option. Suyash Sharma may regain his place as an Impact Player.
• Probable XII: Virat Kohli, Phil Salt/Jacob Bethell, Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar (c), Jitesh Sharma (wk), Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Abhinandan Singh, Josh Hazlewood, Suyash Sharma

Key Stats

• Jasprit Bumrah has not picked a wicket in his last four IPL games.
• Venkatesh Iyer won Player of the Match in two of his last three appearances at the Wankhede.

Quotes

Kieron Pollard on Rohit Sharma completing 15 years with MI:
"It's a great honour… He's a legend in his own right… long may that continue."

Bhuvneshwar Kumar on the selection between Phil Salt and Jacob Bethell:
"I know the way Jacob Bethell batted in the World Cup, there is always a temptation to include him… this is largely the same squad that did well last season."