Mumbai Indians Start As Betting Favorites Against RCB On April 9

The 2021 Indian Premier League (IPL) will kick off on April 9 and conclude with the grand finale on May 30. Mumbai Indians, who are the defending champions, will play the first game of the season when they take on the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on April 9 in Chennai.

The BCCI has restricted the series to just six venues due to the concerns of the COVID-19 pandemic. All of the games will be played in neutral venues, and hence no side will have the advantage of having the home crowd supporting them. This could hurt a few teams as some of them, like the Mumbai Indians, have been nearly unbeatable on home turf.

Betting Odds: Mumbai Indians vs. RCB

Bookmakers have the Mumbai Indians as betting favorites to win the 2021 IPL with odds of 3.50, and it is no surprise that they are also the favorites to win against RCB. Bet365 has given RCB odds of 7.00 to win the IPL championship, making them the third favorite IPL franchise to win the championship after Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals.

For the opening game, Mumbai Indians have odds of 1.66 to win, while RCB has odds of 2.20. If Mumbai Indians win this game, their betting odds will improve as they are once again the team to beat.

However, if RCB can win the opening game and win in style, their betting odds for their next few games will switch as this RCB side is looking to win their first IPL trophy this season. We take a look at the key factors that each team will have to get right to win the opening game.

What Mumbai Indians Must Do To Win

While many teams in the IPL will be keen on winning the toss to get an advantage early on, the Mumbai Indians don’t really have to worry too much about winning the toss unless the pitch is a rank turner or rain is expected.

This is because the defending champions have the most balanced side in the league as both their batting and bowling departments can win the game for them. They have quality batsmen and an impressive bowling line-up that can trouble the best teams.

Throw in their great mix of all-rounders, and you have all the ingredients in place for the Mumbai Indians to win their third championship in a row. However, can the Mumbai Indians create history and dominate the IPL for another season in a row?

We will have to wait and see, but the first game will indicate where the Mumbai Indians are in terms of both the mental and technical aspects of the game. Rohit Sharma will lead the Mumbai Indians once again and be their biggest key to victory.

The Mumbai Indians have such a talent-rich squad that it will be imperative for them to correct their playing XI for the game against RCB. They should field their best playing XI at the start of the tournament and look to experiment only after getting a few wins under their belt and sitting on top of the points table.

What RCB Must Do To Win

RCB have usually found themselves under pressure in most seasons because they have struggled to get going. They have found it difficult to keep a winning streak going, and this will be one of the biggest challenges for RCB captain Virat Kohli.

Kohli knows that if they can pass the first test and beat the Mumbai Indians comprehensively, it will do wonders to his side’s confidence and give them momentum early on. RCB should not have much of a problem with their batting unit as they have done well to strengthen their squad batting-wise.

D Padikkal and Kohli will open the batting for RCB, and it will be interesting to see how the batting order is arranged for the first game. You expect AB Devilliers and Glenn Maxwell to play, but will Kohli send them in at numbers 3 and 4, or will they look to give someone like M Azharuddeen a chance to show what he can do up the order.

If they play Maxwell and Devilliers as batsmen, they have two more overseas picks to make use of. They will most likely play Kiwi Kyle Jamiseson as they paid huge money for him during the IPL. The fourth overseas player could either be A Zampa or all-rounder Dan Christian.

Verdict: We expect the Mumbai Indians to win the first game as many of their domestic players have been playing for India during the India vs. England series. This gives Mumbai Indians another edge over RCB.