Jasprit Bumrah‘s long injury-induced absence from cricket is finally set to end, as he has been cleared to participate in the ongoing Indian Premier League season. Mumbai Indians head coach Mahela Jayawardene confirmed that Jasprit Bumrah is available for selection and will feature in MI’s match against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at the Wankhede on Monday (April 7).
Upon arriving at the Wankhede on Sunday (April 6) evening with the MI squad, Jasprit Bumrah had a look at the pitch and even did shadow bowling. Jasprit Bumrah then went on to bowl in the nets, mainly to Rohit Sharma, who himself is nursing an injury. The MI coach is happy that with the return of Jasprit Bumrah’s experience will be of immense value to the side. Mumbai Indians are set to host Royal Challengers Bengaluru in match No. 20 of the ongoing IPL 2025 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Monday, April 7.
MI vs RCB : Previous Performances
Mumbai Indians(MI) are struggling at No. 8 on the points table after managing to win just one out of their first four games. They suffered an agonising 12-run defeat in their most recent clash against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) at the Ekana Cricket Stadium. Hardik Pandya and Co. would want to get their campaign back on track with a win on Monday. Rohit Sharma took a hit ahead of the last game and had to miss out. His fitness will be assessed when he bats at the nets on Sunday.
Meanwhile, RCB started their campaign with back-to-back wins against Kolkata Knight Riders and Chennai Super Kings. However, their small winning streak came to an end in their first match at home against Gujarat Titans. They were beaten by eight wickets. The Rajat Patidar-led side will look to get back to winning ways against a rusty Mumbai at the iconic Wankhede Stadium.
MI vs RCB : Head to Head
MI lead RCB 19-14 but the two teams are evenly matched in recent years, with a 2-2 record since 2022. At the Wankhede, MI dominated them 8-3, with RCB’s last win at the venue dating back to IPL 2015. Since then, they have lost six consecutive matches at the ground.
| Matches Played | 33 |
| Won by Mumbai Indians | 19 |
| Won by Royal Challengers Bengaluru | 14 |
| Tied | 00 |
| No Result | 00 |
| First-ever Fixture | April 20, 2008 |
| Most-recent Fixture | April 11, 2024 |
MI vs RCB : Pitch and Weather Report
The Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai is expected to favour the batters. However, the new ball will swing around and the opening batters will have to be wary. If the batters can get themselves set at the crease, changing gears won’t be too difficult, especially with the fast outfield and short boundaries at the venue. The average first inning score at the Wankhede Stadium in the IPL is 171 after 119 games. Chasing teams have won 65 matches, while teams batting first have emerged victorious on 53 occasions.
Mumbai’s red-soil pitches are known to be batting-friendly, a factor further amplified by the small boundaries. The contest is expected to produce copious amounts of runs, with the key question being whether dew will play a role. The chasing team is likely to have the advantage, but how significant that advantage turns out to be will depend on the level of moisture on the grass on Monday night.
The weather in Mumbai has been hot with high humidity levels. The temperature is expected to hover around the early 30s on Monday evening. Despite the ground’s relatively small dimensions, there have only been four 200-plus IPL totals at the Wankhede since 2024, two of them coming in the same game. Teams batting first have won four of the last eight matches here, but captains have preferred to chase, with the threat of dew in mind. The team winning the toss has bowled first in every IPL match here since 2024.
MI vs RCB : Big Picture : Jasprit Bumrah available, Rohit set to return
One of the running jokes of the IPL over its 18 seasons is that Mumbai Indians have needed the month of May to truly kick into gear. With the tournament usually starting in April in the early years, MI would typically lose a few games before getting back to winning ways in May. While the timelines may have shifted over the years, MI have continued to start slowly, and that’s been the case in IPL 2025 too.
With three defeats in four outings so far, they are getting close to danger territory. Teams typically need at least 16 points from their 14 league games to be in contention for the playoffs, and time may be running out for the five-time champions. One bit of news will brighten the mood around the MI camp significantly, though. Jasprit Bumrah is available for selection. If any one player can transform a team’s fortunes all by himself, it’s Jasprit Bumrah.
What he can’t do, however, is fix MI’s batting issues. In three of their four matches, their opening partnership has not lasted beyond the second over. Rohit Sharma’s run of lean scores aside, MI have yet to settle on a batting order.
That could change with the return of two key players for Monday’s game against Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the Wankhede – Jasprit Bumrah and Rohit Sharma. Jasprit Bumrah has missed all four games so far, while Rohit had to sit out the last one and is eager to make his presence count. Both are more than capable of making an impact – in the PowerPlay overs, primarily. MI will be hoping for that against a side that has shown a lot of promise despite the reversal in the result the previous game at home.
Naman Dhir, one of their bright spots from last season and for whom they used the right-to-match card at the auction, batted at No. 7 in two games before scoring a 24-ball 46 at No. 3 in their last outing against Lucknow Super Giants. With Rohit set to return after missing that game with a knee injury, Will Jacks could move back to one-drop, which would push Dhir further down.
While Suryakumar Yadav’s form has been a consolation for MI, Tilak Varma has looked scratchy enough to get retired out, and Hardik Pandya hasn’t been setting the death overs on fire. And there are questions over MI’s firepower – or lack thereof – lower down the order.
On the eve of their match against Royal Challengers Bengaluru, head coach Mahela Jayawardene didn’t sound too worried. “I want to be more flexible with the batting order given where we are and the talent and skill we have,” he said in Mumbai on Sunday. “As long as we have productivity from those guys in different positions, it will give us advantage going forward.”
MI’s opponents on Monday, RCB, are one of the form teams so far this season. They are coming off a loss to Gujarat Titans at home but have won both their away games. That run has included a win at Chepauk for the first time since 2008. RCB have beaten MI only three times at the Wankhede, and haven’t done so even once since 2015. With a unit in strong early-season form, with four of their batters having already scored half-centuries, this could be their best chance of ending that run.
With the likes of Phil Salt, Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar with the bat, while Josh Hazlewood, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Suyash Sharma follow with the ball…Royal Challengers have raised the hopes of their ever so loyal fans for the season.
MI vs RCB : In the spotlight: Tilak Varma and Tim David
Tilak Varma has made a sedate start to IPL 2025. After a breakthrough international season that featured two T20I centuries for India, he has struggled for fluency in the IPL. He began the season with a 36-ball 39 against Gujarat Titans, and scored 25 off 23 against LSG before being retired out as MI’s required rate spiralled out of control.
Tilak returns to the Wankhede now, but it hasn’t been a happy hunting ground for him in T20s: he has a highest score of 38 in 15 innings here, and his strike rate of 124.07 is his lowest at any ground where he has batted at least five times.
Among the away players who could feel at home in Mumbai on Monday is Tim David, who made his name as a lower-order hitter for MI from 2022 to 2024. Since 2022, only Dinesh Karthik (208.33) and Suryakumar (197.09) have better IPL strike rates than David (188.95) at the Wankhede (minimum five innings).
“Coming back to play in Mumbai, it’s a wonderful place to play at the Wankhede,” David said ahead of the game against MI.
“[I] love batting here. It’s a nice place to have as your home ground. It’s not my home ground anymore. Hopefully I get a chance to do some damage out there in the middle tomorrow night.”
MI vs RCB : Vital Stats that matters
- Rohit Sharma has been dismissed 21 times inside the powerplay in 33 IPL innings since the start of 2023. He averages 24.95 in this phase in this time – only Wriddhiman Saha (20.85) has done worse among the 11 batters who have batted at least 25 times in the first six overs.
- Since the start of 2023, no one has scored more runs in IPL chases than Suryakumar Yadav (809). Among batters with at least 10 innings in chases, only Nicholas Pooran and Abhishek Sharma have better strike rates than Suryakumar (184.28).
- Tim David (31) has hit the most sixes in the death overs (17th to 20th) in the last three seasons of the IPL, ahead of MS Dhoni (27) and Rinku Singh (26).
- Bhuvneshwar Kumar needs one wicket to become the third-highest wicket-taker in the IPL. He is currently on par with R Ashwin and Dwayne Bravo on 183 wickets, behind Piyush Chawla (192) and Yuzvendra Chahal (206).
- MI picked up four wickets in the PowerPlay against KKR while in the other three games they have just one, largely thanks to Boult’s struggles.
- Each of Hardik’s five wickets against LSG have come off hard lengths and seven wickets by him off these lengths is the most by a seamer in IPL 2025 so far.
- Tim David has the highest strike rate (220.83) in death overs (16-20) for anyone who faced at least 20 balls in this phase in IPL 2025.
MI vs RCB : Team News for MI and RCB
Mumbai Indians
Injury & Availability: Jasprit Bumrah will finally be available for MI, the team management has confirmed. However, some uncertainty still surrounds Rohit Sharma’s fitness after he missed the previous match after being hit on the knee in the nets. Tilak Varma, who was also on the injury list, is expected to be fit for the game – just as he was in the previous match.
Bumrah and Rohit – who had a near-30-minute batting stint at the nets on Sunday – are set to return, with Ashwani Kumar and Raj Bawa – who did not bat or bowl against LSG – likely to make way.
Tactics & Match-ups: Deepak Chahar and Trent Boult, both known for consistently striking in the PowerPlay, are likely to continue to wield the new ball. This could leave Jasprit Bumrah to operate in the middle and at the death, with young Ashwani Kumar possibly left out of the XI. Vignesh Puthur may be brought in as a tactical option to counter big-hitters like Liam Livingstone while Bumrah, in the death overs, could be the right man to stop big-hitting Tim David with his toe-crushers.
Probable XII: Rohit Sharma, Will Jacks, Ryan Rickelton, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya (c), Naman Dhir, Raj Bawa, Mitchell Santner, Deepak Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult, Vignesh Puthur
Royal Challengers Bengaluru
Injury & Availability: Tim David confirmed that there is no information of any injuries to the team. Virat Kohli was not at training on match eve. RCB are expected to go in unchanged, the only point of contention being whether they need an extra spinner. If they decide to pick one, they could bring in either Suyash Sharma or Swapnil Singh in place of Rasikh Salam.
Tactics & Match-ups: RCB’s default strategy should be enough to begin with against MI. With Josh Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar Kumar opening the bowling, they will have enough ammunition to counter the MI openers Rohit Sharma and Ryan Rickelton. Spinner Suyash Sharma will have to tackle the likes of Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya.
Probable XII: Philip Salt, Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar (c), Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma (wk.), Tim David, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood, Yash Dayal, Suyash Sharma
MI vs RCB Fantasy Playing XI : Phil Salt, Suryakumar Yadav, Rajat Patidar, Devdutt Padikkal, Tilak Varma, Liam Livingstone, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Will Jacks, Josh Hazlewood, Vignesh Puthur
MI vs RCB : Probable Best Performers
Probable Best Batter: Phil Salt
Phil Salt missed out in the last game after playing two blistering knocks to start his IPL 2025 campaign. He smashed a 31-ball 56 against his former side Kolkata Knight Riders. In the following game against Chennai Super Kings, Salt played an important cameo of 32 off 16 balls. It would be a nice challenge for him to face Trent Boult and Deepak Chahar on a pitch where the new ball generally swings around for the first few overs. If he wins this mini-battle against the veteran MI seamers, RCB could be set for a big score.
Probable Best Bowler: Trent Boult
Trent Boult will hold the key for MI with the new ball. He can swing the ball both ways at pace and would be eager to make early inroads on Monday. His duel with Virat Kohli will be intriguing to watch. Hardik would hope for Boult to set the tone inside the powerplay.
MI vs RCB : Match Prediction
Scenario 1
- Mumbai Indians win the toss and bowl
- PP Score – 60-70
- RCB- 210-220
- Mumbai Indians win the match
Scenario 2
- Royal Challengers Bengaluru win the toss and bowl
- PP score – 55-65
- MI- 190-200
- Royal Challengers Bengaluru win the match
Also Read: MI vs RCB : Tim David Plays Mind Games Ahead Of Jasprit Bumrah’s First Game