Rohit's form, Virat's strike-rate the talking points as MI host RCB
MUMBAI: Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) must be hurting after suffering demoralizing defeats in their last match. MI were hammered by Chennai Super Kings while RCB were slayed by Delhi Capitals.
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IPL 2023 SCHEDULEIPL 2023 POINTS TABLE
When they lock horns at the Wankhede Stadium on Tuesday, they will be desperate to get a win under their belt and put some breathing space between them and the chasing pack while staying in touch with those above them, especially with all the teams still in contention for a playoff spot.
Under the lens will be Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli - two of the biggest stars of Indian cricket at the moment - who have served their franchises well over the years but questions have been raised about the way they have gone about their business this time around. Rohit has been off the boil in the last few matches and while scoring runs hasn't been an issue for Kohli, the pace at which he has scored them has been criticised.
In 10 matches this season, Rohit has scored just 184 runs which have come at a strike rate of 126.90 with the help of just one half-century. In the last four matches his scores read 2, 3, 0, 0. Rohit's fifty that came in a winning cause against Delhi Capitals at the start of the tournament was just his second in three seasons. While he scored one in 2021, he didn't hit a single half century last season.
Rohit has been a firm believer in tonking it from the word go. He did that successfully in the first few matches, but lately, the approach hasn't clicked. The reason behind Rohit's desperation may stem from the fact that at the other end Ishan Kishan too hasn't been quick to get off the blocks.
Cameroon Green, who opened in place of Rohit in MI's last match against Chennai Super Kings, backed the skipper to come good. "Absolutely not. A legend that Rohit is, especially with Mumbai and everything that he has done in his career, we back him. He could come back into form any time. So far he has batted beautifully in a few games, showing really good tempo at the top, so we are absolutely backing him," said the Australian on the eve of the match which saw both the teams sweating it out in the nets for close to three hours.
On the other side of the spectrum is Kohli, who is enjoying his best IPL season in a long time in terms of runs under his belt, having scored 419 runs in 10 matches with the help of six half-centuries. But the strike-rate of 135. 16 has been questioned.
Among the nine openers who have scored 300-plus runs this season, Virat Kohli sits in second last position when it comes to strike rate. The list is topped by Rajasthan Royals' young gun Yashasvi Jaiswal, who has brought up his runs at a strike rate of 160.60.
Second on the list is RCB skipper Faf du Plessis, who is the top-scorer in the IPL this season with 511 runs and has a strike rate of 157. 71. But Du Plessis also changed his approach going into the season and took a conscious decision to bat at a higher tempo.
1/10:MI vs RCB IPL 2023: Rohit Sharma's form in focus as Mumbai take on Bangalore
2/10:Race for playoffs heating up
<p>With the race for playoffs intensifying, captain Rohit Sharma's form with the bat and bowling in the death overs will be a huge concern for hosts Mumbai Indians when they meet Royal Challengers Bangalore in a mid-table IPL clash in Mumbai on Tuesday.<br /></p>IANS
3/10:Second consecutive poor season for Rohit
<p>With 184 runs in 10 matches at a forgettable average of 18.39 and a solitary half-century, Rohit is enduring a second consecutive poor season with the bat. In last year's IPL, where MI finished last, Rohit averaged a little over 19 while scoring 268 runs in 14 matches.<br /><br /></p>AP
4/10:Rohit lacks consistency at the top
<p>Rohit's role in this IPL has been to provide brisk starts at the top, and at times he has had some success too, but consistency has deserted the right-arm batter whose early dismissal in huge chases has only added pressure on a relatively new batting line-up, which fortunately, from MI's point of view, has delivered too.<br /></p>IANS
5/10:MI batters going strong
<p>However, with Rohit not firing at the top, MI have had the likes of Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav and Cameron Green consolidating in the middle while Tilak Varma and Tim David have also found their groove as finishers late in the order.<br /></p>IANS
6/10:MI have death overs bowling problem too
<p>At the same time, Mumbai Indians will also be concerned about their death overs bowling, having conceded four consecutive totals in excess of 200 while bowling first, two of which were recorded on flat decks here at the Wankhede Stadium.<br /></p>AP
7/10:RCB rely on Kohli, Du Plessis and Maxwell
<p>On the other hand, RCB will hope that their troika of Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis and Glenn Maxwell fire at the top, since whenever they have done so collectively, the team has found itself mostly on the right side of the results.<br /></p>ANI
8/10:RCB have 5 wins and 5 losses in 10 games
<p>Mahipal Lomror struck a quality 54 against Delhi Capitals but his knock was not enough as RCB suffered a shock defeat, which kept them at the fifth spot in the points table with five wins and as many defeats in 10 matches.<br /></p>IANS
9/10:Skipper Du Plessis leads RCB from the front
<p>With 511 runs, Du Plessis is the only batter this season to have crossed the 500-run mark and RCB will hope that their skipper gets going with others in his tow to a big total if they bat first.<br /></p>AFP
10/10:Karthik's form a worry for RCB
<p>But it remains to be seen if RCB have more in their batting shelf apart from the big three, who have done the heavy lifting so far in the IPL. Dinesh Karthik has failed with the bat this season and RCB also do not have a big hitter in their lower-middle order either.<br /><br /></p>IANS"In the past, I always felt like I had a decent attacking game but I felt like there was another gear in terms of taking your strike rate from 130 to 150 at least and then sometimes 160-170 so, I have worked on that a lot. But it is also important for me to try and play as much cricket as possible just to try and stay on top of my game," Du Plessis revealed in the RCB Bold Diaries.
But like Rohit, Kohli also finds himself in a Catch 22 situation - whether to keep hitting or farm the strike after an initial burst, as barring him, Du Plessis and Glenn Maxwell, the rest of the RCB batters have struggled. Mahipal Lomror's fifty in the last match was a first by an RCB batter, other than the top three.
