In the IPL 2021 season-opener and the battle between two of India's finest white-ball players, RCB skipper Virat Kohli won the toss and elected to bowl against defending champions Mumbai Indians at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Friday.
Glenn Maxwell, Rajat Patidar and Kyle Jamieson will make debuts for RCB. For MI, Chris Lynn and Marco Jansen will be playing for the first time.
"Every year IPL has a different energy, a different vibe. It's high intensity. Playing for the same franchise has been an honour for me. Loyalty is a big thing for me. Dubai was great as well but this just feels like home. Great feeling to be playing in our stadiums and for people to watch in our prime times. Three guys making their debut: Maxwell, Jamieson, Christian is back after eight years for the same franchise," said Kohli.
While Mumbai are looking to clinch their sixth IPL trophy, Kohli's men are yet to win the title. MI have won almost double the number of games played between the two teams over the years. While the Mumbai-based outfit has won 17 matches, Kohli's men have won just 9 matches.
"Fresh year, new faces as well. Important for us to start well which we haven;t done in this tournament. Last game we played was a final in Dubai. Got only two changes from that lineup. Quinny is in quarantine, so he isn't available. Lynn will make debut. And we have a six foot eight inch South African, Marco Jensen," said MI skipper Rohit.
Last year, the RCB reached the playoff stage of the tournament but were defeated by the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the eliminator. MI, on the other hand,
Deviating from its original format, there will be no home matches for any franchise in the 2021 season of the IPL. Last year, the entirety of the tournament was played in the United Arab Emirates due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mumbai Indians: 1 Rohit Sharma (capt), 2 Chris Lynn, 3 Suryakumar Yadav, 4 Ishan Kishan (wk), 5 Hardik Pandya, 6 Kieron Pollard, 7 Krunal Pandya, 8 Marco Jansen, 9 Jayant Yadav, 10 Trent Boult, 11 Jasprit Bumrah
Royal Challengers Bangalore: 1 Virat Kohli (capt), 2 Rajat Patidar, 3 AB de Villiers (wk), 4 Glenn Maxwell, 5 Daniel Christian, 6 Washington Sundar, 7 Kyle Jamieson, 8 Shahbaz Ahmed 9 Harshal Patel, 10 Mohammed Siraj, 11 Yuzvendra Chahal
