Key match-ups, analysis, form, team news, weather forecast, tickets, TV and streaming information, odds, predictions and more ahead of the latest encounter in the 2023 IPL
Royal Challengers Bangalore take on the Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier league.
The match will be played on Sunday, April 2 with play commencing at 7:30pm local time (3pm GMT).
The game will be played at the Mangalam Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore.
RCB are still looking for their maiden title after finishing in the playoffs in each of the past three seasons. They made a fast start last term, and though they finished in the top four most of their momentum had gone by the time the knock-out phase rolled around. They beat Lucknow Super Giants in the Eliminator, but Rajasthan Royals were too good for them in Qualifier 2.
Mumbai Indians are looking to bounce back after a horrendous 2022 season during which they finished bottom of the table with only four wins. With no Jasprit Bumrah available this season, replacement Sandeep Warrier comes into the fold having played just five matches in the IPL for Kolkata Knight Riders and the Challengers.
RCB come into the game with a depleted squad. Australian paier Josh Hazlewood and Glenn Maxwell are set to miss the first game due to injury. Hazlewood is still suffering from an Achilles blow suffered during the South Africa Tests. Maxwell has returned to action since breaking his leg but is still recovering. Furthermore, Wanindu Hasaranga will not be available for the first few matches due to international duties with Sri Lanka and will join the squad after the end of the T20I series against New Zealand.
MI will be without Bumrah this season due to a back problem and they will be without him for the duration of the competition. Jhye Richardson is also ruled out after having surgery on a hamstring issue that surfaced during the BBL.
Jofra Archer returns after a three-year absence from the IPL (Gareth Copley/Getty Images)
The battle between bowler and batter will be at the highest level when Jofra Archer meets Virat Kholi
Archer returns to the IPL three years on from his last tournament outing, while Kohli is one of the most skilled batters in the world, and will have to be at his best to fend off the England seamer's flurry of deliveries.
Matches played: 32
Royal Challengers Bangalore wins: 13
Mumbai Indians wins: 19
Mostly sunny in Bangalore, with top temperatures of 33 degrees Celsius.
Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma (c), Tim David, Ramandeep Singh, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Tristan Stubbs, Dewald Brevis, Jofra Archer, Jasprit Bumrah, Arjun Tendulkar, Arshad Khan, Kumar Kartikeya, Hrithik Shokeen, Jason Behrendorff, Akash Madhwal, Cameron Green, Jhye Richardson, Piyush Chawla, Duan Jansen, Vishnu Vinod, Shams Mulani, Nehal Wadhera, Raghav Goyal, Mohit Rathee
Royal Challengers Bangalore: Faf du Plessis (c), Virat Kohli, Suyash Prabhudessai, Rajat Patidar, Dinesh Karthik, Anuj Rawat, Finn Allen, Glenn Maxwell, Wanindu Hasaranga, Shahbaz Ahmed, Harshal Patel, David Willey, Karn Sharma, Mahipal Lomror, Mohammed Siraj, Josh Hazlewood, Siddarth Kaul, Akash Deep, Reece Topley, Himanshu Sharma, Will Jacks (injured, replaced by Michael Bracewell), Manoj Bhandage, Rajan Kumar, Avinash Singh, R Sonu Yadav
*squads are for the 2023 season as a whole and not specific to this match
Virat Kohli and RCB are chasing that elusive IPL title (INDRANIL MUKHERJEE/AFP via Getty Images)
Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan (wk), Cameron Green, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Tim David, Ramandeep Singh, Jofra Archer, Kumar Kartikeya, Piyush Chawla, Jason Behrendorff
Royal Challengers Bangalore: Rajat Patidar, Faf du Plessis, Virat Kohli, Michael Bracewell, Mahipal Lomror, Reece Topley, Dinesh Karthik, Harshal Patel, Anuj Rawat, Md Siraj, Manoj Bhandage
The bookies make this a very close affair with MI marginal favourites at 10/11 while RCB are 19/20 to win.
This will be a highly contested affair with both teams wanting to get off on the right foot. MI should just take this one.
In the UK, Sky Sports have exclusive rights to this year's tournament, with matches available on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Cricket.
Fans in India can watch all the action on Star Sports.
Elsewhere in the world, viewers in Australia can watch the IPL on Fox Sports while in New Zealand, Sky Sport will provide coverage.
Willow TV and Flow Sports will broadcast the tournament in the United States and the Caribbean, respectively.
Fans in MENA can catch the action on beIN Sports while in South Africa, SuperSport have the rights.
If you are watching from the Middle East, you'll be able to view the game on Times Internet.
People from Bangladesh can watch the game on Gazi TV.
Welcome to www.thecricketer.com - the online home of the world’s oldest cricket magazine. Breaking news, interviews, opinion and cricket goodness from every corner of our beautiful sport, from village green to national arena.