{"id":153933,"date":"2026-04-11T09:36:17","date_gmt":"2026-04-11T15:06:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/?p=153933"},"modified":"2026-04-11T09:36:17","modified_gmt":"2026-04-11T15:06:17","slug":"ipl-2026-mumbai-indians-battle-pesky-slow-starters-tag-as-rcb-comes-calling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/?p=153933","title":{"rendered":"IPL 2026: Mumbai Indians battle pesky \u2018slow starters\u2019 tag as RCB comes calling"},"content":{"rendered":"


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When Mumbai Indians set off for back-to-back away fixtures ten days ago, there was a sense of renewed optimism. The long-standing jinx of opening-game defeats had finally been broken, and the early signs hinted at momentum. But as it returns to familiar surroundings for Sunday night\u2019s marquee Indian Premier League clash against Royal Challengers Bengaluru, the mood is likely more subdued than buoyant.<\/p>\n

The tag of \u2018slow starters\u2019 has resurfaced. Hardik Pandya and Co. have dropped both their away games, and the concern is less about the batting star power and more about a bowling unit that is yet to click. Across three matches, Mumbai Indians\u2019 bowlers have managed only 11 wickets combined \u2014 a telling statistic that underlines their struggles. More worrying is that, barring Jasprit Bumrah and Mitchell Santner (who has featured in only one game), every other bowler has conceded at an economy rate in double digits.<\/p>\n

ALSO READ | Move over Mumbai Indians, Wankhede awaits its OG headliner – Virat Kohli<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n

That lack of control has inevitably placed additional pressure on the batting unit. While the batters have shown flashes of form, they have not quite managed to dominate on the road. Against that backdrop, defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru will sense an opportunity to breach the Wankhede Stadium fortress.<\/p>\n

RCB\u2019s batting has largely been in rhythm, notwithstanding the middle-overs stutter against Rajasthan Royals on Friday night. The return of Krunal Pandya to face his former franchise, with younger brother Hardik leading the opposition, adds an intriguing sub-plot to a contest already headlined by the ever-compelling Rohit Sharma-Virat Kohli duel.<\/p>\n

ALSO READ | Will Shreyas Iyer be banned if Punjab Kings is found guilty of slow over-rate again?<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n

Krunal\u2019s crafty left-arm spin played a key role in dragging RCB back into the contest after Vaibhav Suryavanshi\u2019s onslaught on Friday. On a surface he knows well, the allrounder will be keen to build on that performance.<\/p>\n

While MI will be fretting over Mitchell Santner\u2019s fitness, RCB faces a selection call. Rookie pacer Abhinandan Singh has been expensive in the first three games, and the think-tank may consider turning to Rasikh Dar, last season\u2019s trusted death-overs option, for added control at the back-end.<\/p>\n

Published on Apr 11, 2026<\/p>\n<\/div>\n


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When Mumbai Indians set off for back-to-back away fixtures ten days ago, there was a sense of renewed optimism. The long-standing jinx of opening-game defeats had finally been broken, and the early signs hinted at momentum. But as it returns to familiar surroundings for Sunday night\u2019s marquee Indian Premier League clash against Royal Challengers Bengaluru,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":153934,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-153933","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image202.jpg","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pgnRh4-E2N","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153933","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=153933"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153933\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/153934"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=153933"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=153933"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=153933"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}