The Mumbai Indians will take on the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the 14th game of the third edition of the Indian Premier League. Both the sides have had a decent start to the tournament so far and the winner of this game is bound to get into the top four of the points table standing for now. The game will be played at the Brabourne Stadium, which will be hosting its first ever IPL game.

The Mumbai Indians will be bolstered by the return of the two most dangerous players in world cricket today, Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard. One can be rest assured that both the players will be playing in the game, but the question that needs to be asked is who will they replace. The Mumbai Indians had created a record of sorts when they had gone in with only three foreign players for their first game, but this time around, they will choose all four.

This will mean that Kieron Pollard should get an easy entry into the side as the fourth foreigner, but who will be the third guy is a question-mark. There could be a competition for places between Bravo and Ryan McLaren, and with McLaren having conceded a lot of runs in the first game of the tournament, it could very well boil down to Bravo getting the nod.

Of course, that would mean that the side will be much more balanced than what they were in the first game of the competition. Then, against the Royals, the Mumbai team had a middle order which was almost barely existent, and that created much problems for the side.

Apart from that, the case of Abhishek Nayar in the first game was curious. There was no word of him being injured and hence it was a surprise that he did not get to play in the game. He had been one of the more consistent batsmen in the recent times and hence it could get imperative that he is brought into the side, and in all probabilities, Ali Murtuza could make way for him.

From the other side's perspective, the side needs to get a hold on their bowling. For now, it does look like the weakest link for Bangalore is the lack of a good, penetrative option and one also gets a sense that Dale Steyn is struggling to bowl on Indian pitches which afford nothing for the bowlers. he could be the one bowler that the side may replace and Reolof van der Merwe may make a comeback into the side.

Tag :- Abhishek Nayar   Dale Steyn   Dwayne Bravo   Kieron Pollard   Mumbai Indians   Royal Challengers Bangalore