The tournament opener of the 2021 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) will be played between the Mumbai Indians (MI) and the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). While MI has won the title 5 times, RCB is yet to win a trophy and, both teams will be looking to start their respective IPL campaigns on a winning note. However, MI will be missing their star opener, Quinton De Kock, for the first game and he will be expected to be replaced by the fiery Australian opener, Chris Lynn.

De Kock joined the Mumbai Indians camp after playing the first two ODI’s that South Africa played against Pakistan. And, as per the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) protocols, he is currently undergoing mandatory one week of quarantine. And now, Lynn will be replacing De Kock, as confirmed by the official website of the Mumbai Indians. Lynn has played 41 IPL matches and amassed 1280 runs at a strike rate of 140.66.

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Quinton De Kock was in a pretty decent form in the IPL 2020 which took place in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) last year and played a crucial role in Mumbai winning the title. He had amassed 503 runs in the 13th edition of the IPL and scored his runs at an average of 35.92 and at a strike rate of 140.50. 

The 28-year-old has played 66 IPl games in his career so far, in which he has amassed 1959 runs at a decent average of 31.60. De Kock has been known for giving explosive starts for MI as he has maintained a strike rate of more than 130 in his IPL career. 

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The Mumbai side has won 19 of the 29 games they have played against RCB with the latter winning the remaining 10 matches. Mumbai Indians also have a bunch of match-winners in their arsenal, with the likes of Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Kieron Pollard, Krunal Pandya, and Hardik Pandya capable of changing the momentum of the game at any point in time.