Bengaluru: With Jasprit Bumrah “ready and roaring” after an injury scare, Mumbai Indians would fancy their chances against an erratic Royal Challengers Bangalore when the two star-studded teams square off in the IPL here on Thursday.
The big sub-plot of the contest would be the world’s best ODI batsman — Virat Kohli — taking guard against the world’s best ODI bowler — Bumrah — in a format notorious for its unpredictability. Bumrah’s shoulder injury was a cause of concern for the Rohit Sharma-led Mumbai but India’s premier pacer seems to have recovered in time to be back in the fold.
Both teams will be eager to register their first win of the IPL and the onus will be on Kohli and Rohit, both of who failed with the bat in their respective opening matches. Mumbai will also be boosted by the availability of Sri Lankan Lasith Malinga. Malinga was Tuesday released by Sri Lanka Cricket from the domestic Super Provincial One-Day domestic tournament, slated from April 4 to 11.
The SLC had made the tournament a trial for the World Cup squad selection, prompting Malinga to pull out of the IPL’s first leg initially. However, the SLC softened its stance, reasoning that the fast bowler will be bowling to better batsmen in the IPL.
Mumbai will also heave a sigh of relief as Bumrah joined practice Wednesday during which he ran for 20 minutes and participated in catching drills. He also took to social media to state that he was “ready and roaring.” Match starts at 8pm. (PTI)
