Will Rohit Sharma or Virat Kohli fulfil Aakash Chopra's prophecy in IPL 2021 opener?

Commentator-cum-cricket expert Aakash Chopra has predicted that the defending champions as well as five-time IPL winners Mumbai Indians will get the better of the three-time finalists Royal Challengers Bangalore in the curtain-raiser of IPL 2021 that will be played at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Friday.

'I am tilting in favor of the defending champions': Aakash Chopra

"My first prediction is that the openers of both teams i.e. of one of each team- Mumbai & Bangalore will definitely score more than 30 runs and these two openers can be Kohli and Rohit because both are in good form and have been playing cricket continuously and so, could possibly be these two", said Chopra while interacting on his official YouTube channel.

At the same time, the former Indian Test opener also reckoned that the spinners will pick up more wickets than the fast bowlers despite both teams playing more number of fast bowlers combined which might be 6-7 but, according to Aakash Chopra, spinners will have the last laugh.

The stylish cricket pundit's third prediction was that the combination of Suryakumar Yadav and Rohit Sharma will score more runs than Virat Kohli as well as RCB's new recruit Glenn Maxwell. 

"Last but not the least, my prediction for the game. I am going with, I am tilting in favor of the defending champions Mumbai", the cricketer-turned-commentator/analyst concluded.

Mumbai Indians in IPL 2021 

The Mumbai-based franchise will be hoping to continue their outstanding run in the marquee tournament in a quest to retain the title and win it for a record sixth time and if they succeed in doing so, then they will be the first and only team to have registered a hat-trick of title wins in the history of the Indian Premier League.

After MI had successfully retained their title last season in the UAE, the Rohit-Sharma-led side became the second time after three-time winners Chennai Super Kings (2010-2011) to register back-to-back title triumphs in the cash-rich tournament. 

RCB in IPL 2021

The dark horses will be hoping to make IPL 2021 a memorable one by finally laying their hands on the elusive silverware that has eluded them since the inaugural edition of the tournament in 2008. RCB had made it to the finals thrice (2009,2011, & 2016) editions respectively only to finish as the second-best side on all three occasions. 

The Virat Kohli-led side had put up a good show in 2020 as a result of which they made it to the playoffs for the first time since the 2016 edition by finishing fourth in the league stages. 

(Image Courtesy: cricketaakash/Instagram/PTI)