New Delhi: Match 46 of the Indian Premier League 2015 takes us to Mumbai's iconic Wankhede Stadium as home side Mumbai Indians take on visitors Royal Challengers Bangalore in a crucial encounter.
Coming into this fixture, Rohit Sharma's side is clearly the in-form team with 5 wins on the bounce. While a resurgent RCB recorded a thumping 138-run win over KXIP in Match 40.
Both teams will realize the importance of this match as a win could take them to 4th spot on the points table.
MI have a slight edge over RCB as they lead the head-to-head (9-7) between the two teams. However at the Wankhede Stadium MI tend to dominate RCB with a 5-1 head-to-head record at the venue.
MI's winning run after 4 consecutive defeats ended with a 18-run win over RCB in Bengaluru earlier in the tournament.
Though statistics and history favour MI, counting RCB out would be a huge mistake considering their form in the second half of IPL 2015.
As two of IPL's big boys get set to battle, we highlight a key player from each side who could win Match 46 for his side.
AB de Villiers (RCB)
AB de Villiers is easily the best batsman across all formats in the world on current form. He has been sensational in the IPL through the years, having scored 2360 runs with 14 fifties and 1 ton in 98 matches at a strike rate of 141.82. This year, the South African has further improved his performances with 303 runs in 10 matches with an astonishing strike rate of 165.57. With a scramble for the play-offs positions, RCB will expect a big knock from their star man against MI's strong bowling attack.
Harbhajan Singh (MI)
IPL 2015 has witnessed the revival of Harbhajan Singh's spin wizardry. The veteran has been the most consistent performer for his side with the ball, even scoring a 19-ball fifty, which is the fastest in the IPL this year. The off-spinner has picked up 12 wickets in 10 outings with an economy rate of 7.67. Not only has he picked wickets, but helped stem the flow of runs whenever the skipper has thrown the ball to him. Against RCB, Harbhajan Singh will be expected to spin a web around the supremely gifted batting line-up.
Key stats
The average first innings total in this IPL at the Wankhede Stadium is 174 runs.
MI's longest winning streak in IPL history is 6 matches
