3 player battles to watch out for in MI vs RCB, Match 21 of IPL 2025 ft. Jasprit Bumrah

Mumbai Indians (MI) will host Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the 20th match of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) at the iconic Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Monday, April 7. While RCB are placed second on the points table, MI are eighth, at the time of writing.

RCB started their campaign with back-to-back wins against defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), and Chennai Super Kings (CSK). Their winning run ended in their third game, where IPL 2022 champions Gujarat Titans (GT) beat them.

MI, on the other hand, are struggling this time and have managed to win just one out of their four games so far. Their campaign started with a loss against CSK and GT before they bagged their first two points on the table by defeating KKR.

MI’s most recent encounter against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) turned out to be a thrilling one, but the five-time champions fell 12 runs short of the target. With both teams coming on the back of a loss, they’ll give their best to get back to winning ways.

On that note, here’s looking at three player battles to watch out for in the MI vs RCB clash:

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#3 Suryakumar Yadav (Batter) vs Josh Hazlewood (Bowler)

Suryakumar Yadav, who recently played his 100th IPL match for MI, is in top form with the bat and was the top run scorer (67) for his side in their previous game against LSG. MI have a strong middle-order lineup, with Surya spearheading it.

Josh Hazlewood, meanwhile, has picked up six wickets from three matches so far, at an average of 14.33 and an economy of 7.26. He has taken wickets in both the powerplay as well as the middle overs.

The matchup between these two players will be interesting because the MI batter’s forte is to dominate in the middle-overs, while Hazlewood is known to put the brakes on any batter’s momentum.

In T20s, Suryakumar Yadav has scored 26 runs off the 10 balls he’s faced against the Aussie, with the latter dismissing him once. SKY has hit Josh for three fours and two sixes in the mentioned balls.

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#2 Hardik Pandya (Batter) vs Krunal Pandya (Bowler)

United by blood, divided by IPL. That’s the story of Hardik Pandya and Krunal Pandya, the Baroda brothers who will be up against each other when RCB and MI face off. While Hardik has been leading MI since IPL 2024, Krunal joined RCB this season after being roped in by the franchise at the IPL 2025 mega auction.

The two know everything about each other, be it personal or professional details. When facing each other on the field, they will try to put every possible strategy into play to stop the other.

They will most likely come up against each other in the middle overs, with both capable of delivering with the bat and ball. In 28 deliveries of four T20 innings, Hardik has scored 16 runs against Krunal, while falling prey to him once.

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#1 Virat Kohli (Batter) vs Jasprit Bumrah (Bowler)

Virat Kohli started his IPL 2025 season well, but struggled in RCB's previous game against GT, getting out in the powerplay. The former RCB skipper has 97 runs from three matches, with an unbeaten 59 being his best so far this season.

Jasprit Bumrah, meanwhile, is set to play his first match of IPL 2025 after being declared fit by the NCA. MI, on their official social media handles, shared a video of Bumrah joining the camp. With the pace master raring to go, he’ll be a sure-shot pick in MI’s playing XI.

With Kohli opening the innings for RCB and Bumrah potentially taking charge with the new ball, it will be a mouthwatering contest when two of the finest cricketers go head-to-head. In T20s, Kohli has scored 140 runs off Bumrah, hitting him for 15 fours and five sixes in 95 deliveries of 16 innings. On the other hand, India’s pace spearhead has gotten the better of the former India skipper five times.