MI vs RCB: Will Rohit Sharma deliver in must-win RCB fixture to be Playoff-ready?

MI’s Rohit Sharma dejected after his dismissal against CSK at Chepauk in Chennai last Saturday. Pic/PTI; (right) Virat Kohli during Royal Challengers Bangalore’s practice session at the Wankhede Stadium yesterday. Pic/Ashish Raje

With five wins in 10 games, Mumbai Indians (MI) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) are eager to take one step forward towards a Playoffs place at the Wankhede Stadium today.

The Tuesday evening clash is also a match-up between MI's India skipper Rohit Sharma and former India captain Virat Kohli, RCB's strong batting force.

RCB have two in the top five run-getters of the ongoing IPL with skipper Faf du Plessis leading the charts with 511 runs and Kohli with 419 runs. The South African stalwart and India's batting icon have five and six 50-plus scores in this edition of the IPL respectively. RCB are making waves in the bowling department as well with Mohammed Siraj (15 wickets) and Harshal Patel (12 wickets) turning it on.

Cameron Green

While RCB have had their skipper firing, the form of the MI skipper hasn't been great. Ducks in the last two games and just five runs across the previous two matches, doesn't paint a rosy picture.

‘He's a legend'

However, his teammate Cameron Green insisted that the skipper's form is not a worry. "Absolutely not. A legend that Rohit is, especially with Mumbai and everything that he has done in his career, we actually back him. He could come back into form anytime. He has batted beautifully in a few games, showing really good tempo at the top, so we are absolutely backing him," Green said.

Also Read: Rohit's form, death bowling concern for Mumbai Indians ahead of IPL tie against RCB

Green, who opened the innings against Chennai Super Kings instead of Rohit and scored six before pacer Tushar Deshpande clean bowled him on Saturday, stressed that every game is crucial for the team now.

"Hopefully, everything [that] we learned in the first 10 games would hold us in good stead for that [later] part. Now, to the end of the tournament, it is going to be ruthless.

If you win a game, you are second, but if you lose a couple of games you are second last. We just got to put out our best performance and we know we have an incredible team," Green added.

‘Kohli leads from the front'

Meanwhile, RCB's Kedar Jadhav, told the media that all the players want to perform like Kohli.

"Virat has always been like that [full of aggression] as he is a strong personality and likes to lead from the front. All players want to perform close to that level or close to that intensity, which he brings in even if he is practising," Jadhav, 38, said in reply to mid-day's query on Kohli's aggression.