Mumbai, Apr 7: Pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah returned from a long injury-enforced layoff as Mumbai Indians won the toss and elected to bowl first against Royal Challengers Bengaluru in an Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 clash at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Monday.

Bumrah has undergone treatment and rehabilitation since pulling up short with a lower back injury during the fifth and final Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series in Sydney. Rohit has missed their last match against Lucknow Super Giants because of a knee injury. Their return definitely provides the adrenaline boost that MI needs after losing three matches in four games.

Mumbai Indians skipper Hardik Pandya said he opted to bowl first because the track looks good and dew might come into play later in the evening.

"When the wicket is good, it stays that way, and with dew, it could only get better," said Pandya, who revealed that they are missing certain things at certain moments. He added that playing at home gives them a good chance to play good cricket and entertain the crowd.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru skipper Rajat Patidar said he would have opted to chase on this wicket. He, however, felt it would not make much difference and thought the wicket would remain good for the batters throughout the match.

"Playing good cricket is the focus, rather than looking at the points table at the moment," said Patidar, adding that they are confident about their bowling unit.

It is altogether another matter that RCB have not beaten Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium since 2015. And with the two teams set to play only once this season, this is their only chance to put the record straight.

Playing XIs:

Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Virat Kohli, Phil Salt, Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar (capt), Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Tim David, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood, Yash Dayal; Impact substitutes: Suyash Sharma, Rasikh Dar, Swastik Chikara, Jacob Bethell, Swapnil Singh.

Mumbai Indians: Will Jacks, Ryan Rickelton (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya (capt), Naman Dhir, Mitchell Santner, Deepak Chahar, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah, Vignesh Puthur; Impact substitutes: Rohit Sharma, Corbin Bosch, Ashwani Kumar, Raj Bawa, Robin Minz.

(IANS)

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