<p><strong>IPL 5 – Mumbai Indians vs Royal Challengers Bangalore – Match Preview</strong></p>
<p>Mumbai Indians will take on Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) today, in the 54<sup>th</sup> fixture of the fifth season of the Indian Premier League (IPL), at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai.</p>
<p>Both the teams were considered favourites before the start of the tournament. However, these two have had a rough ride in the current season so far. There are a number of superstars playing in both the sides and one can expect a mouth-watering encounter
today.</p>
<p>Mumbai has not been at its best in the tournament so far but still it is number three on the points table with 14 points after 11 matches. With five matches still left in the season for the Indians, Harbhajan Singh and company should easily qualify for the
play-off stage of the tournament.</p>
<p>RCB, on the other hand, has struggled to find the right combination. Arguably, it has the strongest batting line-up of the tournament along with Delhi Daredevils, in the presence of Chris Gayle, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers. However,
the bowlers of the franchise have let the team down on a number of occasions.</p>
<p>With just 11 points after as many matches, RCB cannot afford to take any match lightly now and has to win most of the matches from now onwards to make it to the last four of the event.</p>
<p>It remains to be seen if RCB’s regular skipper, Daniel Vettori, takes part in today’s fixture or not, as the left-arm spinner left himself out of the playing eleven in the last match against Deccan Chargers to accommodate the legendary, Muttiah Muralitharan.</p>
<p>A good sign for the franchise is that its premier batsman, Tillakaratne Dilshan has found form. The right-handed batsman blasted a superb half-century against Deccan.</p>
<p>The former Sri Lankan captain is still not sure that who will lead the team in this all-important fixture. He admitted that Mumbai is one of the most dangerous teams of the tournament and RCB will have to be at its best to dismantle the home team.</p>
<p>"We will take a call on the captain tomorrow. It will be either (regular captain, Daniel) Vettori or (Virat) Kohli. We have not taken a decision yet. Mumbai are a great team, one of the best teams in the competition and we have to play up to our potential,"
said Dilshan</p>
<p>Mumbai is still not certain about the fitness of Kieron Pollard. However, its recent buy, Dwayne Smith showed in the previous match that he is a genuine match-winner in the shortest format of the game.</p>
<p>Shaun Pollock, the bowling coach of Indians, is happy with his team’s progress this year but confessed that Mumbai is yet to peak in the tournament. He wants his team to avoid complacency as the tournament is heading towards the crucial stages.</p>
<p>The mentor expressed, "We have a strong team on paper but that doesn't mean much because cricket is a funny game. We have not done consistently well in both batting or bowling on a given day. But we have shown what we are capable of. Now is the time for
the boys to play to their potential and peak."</p>
<p>These two teams are evenly matched and it is not possible to predict the result. Both the teams have plenty of players, who can change the outcome of match single-handedly. However, one thing is for sure that fans will witness cricket at its very best.</p>
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