Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) face Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in their upcoming IPL 2024 fixture, in Bengaluru on Tuesday. RCB are currently ninth in the standings with two points in three matches, consisting of a win and two defeats. Meanwhile, LSG are sixth with two points in two games (one win and a defeat).
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) will be up against each other in the 15th match of the IPL 2024. Both teams have had a similar start to their campaign in the ongoing tournament. Both teams lost the first match of their campaign away from home. In their second match, which took place at their respective home grounds, both teams managed to make a comeback and register a win. The only difference is that RCB lost their previous game.
Previous matches performances for RCB and LSG.
RCB began their campaign with a six-wicket defeat against Chennai Super Kings in the season opener, followed by a four-wicket win against PBKS. In their third fixture, they failed to build a winning streak, losing by seven wickets.
Against arch-rivals KKR, RCB suffered a humiliating loss. Batting first, the home side managed to score only 182 runs. KKR chased down the target with ease and won the match by seven wickets with 20 balls to spare. The match between RCB and LSG will happen at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. The home side would be hoping to return to winning ways after suffering a huge loss in their previous match. They do have some concerns in their lineup, which might be addressed in the game against LSG.
LSG began their season with a 20-run defeat against RR, and then bounced back with a 21-run victory against PBKS., and would love to continue the same at Chinnaswamy.
RCB vs LSG: Head-to-Head
Both sides have faced each other four times, with RCB leading 3-1 in terms of head-to-head. Last time when both the teams met at Chinnaswamy it was a battle between then LSG mentor Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli in a match which was a run feast with LSG winning by 1 wicket chasing 212.
RCB vs LSG : Team News
For RCB, despite leading the Orange Cap race with 181 runs, Virat Kohli hasn’t received proper support from his team’s other batters. The likes of Faf du Plessis and Glenn Maxwell have been underperforming, with Dinesh Karthik being the only other in-form batter for RCB. Anuj Rawat started off the campaign brilliantly, but has failed to replicate that in their previous two matches.
KL Rahul’s participation remains doubtful once again, despite him featuring in all three matches. The India star wasn’t expected to don the gloves in the first few matches, but has been doing so, except for the PBKS win. He wasn’t supposed to feature in the match against Punjab, but batted and then was replaced by Impact Player Naveen-ul-Haq.
LSG also have some batting concerns. Quinton de Kock got a half-century in the previous game. But the likes of Devdutt Padikkal, Marcus Stoinis and Ayush Badoni are not in good form and one of them could lose their spot in the playing XI soon. The Lucknow-based franchise unearthed a terrific talent in the game in the form of Mayank Yadav for whom there seems to be no limit to the pace.
The right-arm pacer bowled a deadly spell where none of his deliveries clocked below a pace of 140 kmph. Apart from him, LSG has some of the best players in the world, who will have to go against some of the best players in the dugout of RCB.
RCB vs LSG Pitch and Weather Report.
The match between RCB and LSG is set to take place at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. The pitch at the venue has been interesting this time, as there is some assistance for the bowlers. There is some early swing on offer, and the wicket has been slow. Spinners and slower pacers can make use of such conditions. Batters can still apply themselves and score a lot of runs. Batting second is an advantage due to the dew factor.
During RCB vs PBKS, the pitch had a patchy grass cover. The match could start slow and two-paced. There has been plenty of T20 cricket in the venue lately, and we have seen some big boundaries. The temperature is expected to be around 26 degrees Celsius, with one percent chance of rain. Humidity will be around 29 percent, with 26 percent cloud cover.
The curator has left more grass than usual on the Chinnaswamy surface to prevent it from breaking down. Bengaluru is reeling under a heat wave with temperatures having touched 38 degrees Celsius. Large parts of the outfield were under hessian covers on the eve of the match. RCB coach Andy Flower believes the nature of the deck won’t change, though, and expects 200 to be breached.
Team news & Impact Player strategy
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB)
RCB brought in fast bowler Vyshak Vijaykumar as an Impact Sub for Dinesh Karthik in the previous game. But there’s a case for Vyshak to be in the first XI. He enjoyed a breakout 2023-24 domestic season as a lower-order batter, scoring a maiden first-class century and List A fifty. Patidar or Mahipal Lomror could be likely candidates to be Impact Sub when they bat, with Reece Topley likely to be subbed in when they bowl.
Lucknow Super Giants (LSG)
LSG’s Impact Strategy will hinge on Rahul’s fitness. For now, it’s likely they’ll sub in the big-hitting Ashton Turner or Naveen-ul-Haq for Rahul or another batter.
Players in the spotlight
Faf du Plessis was dismissed for under 20 just once in IPL 2023, where made eight fifty-plus scores. His opening partnership with Virat Kohli was the batting combination of the tournament: they scored 939 runs for the first wicket, equalling the record for any pair in an IPL season. So far, barring his powerplay torrent in Chennai, du Plessis is yet to come into his own this season. He’s retired from international cricket and only had a middling SA20 prior to the IPL. RCB will hope he comes into his own soon.
Mayank Yadav has captivated IPL audiences just like Umran Malik did three years ago. Umran’s is an example for Mayank to understand the challenges of life in the fast lane. This 21-year-old from Delhi who can bowl upwards of 155kph won’t be a novelty for long and how he evolves will be intriguing to watch.
Vital Stats that matters
- RCB’s pacers have proved expensive in the powerplay, so there’s a case to potentially use a favorable match-up against Quinton de Kock. Maxwell has conceded just 45 runs in 49 balls to him in all T20s while dismissing him twice.
- KL Rahul strikes at 181.13 against Mohammed Siraj; perhaps all the more reason for LSG to bring Maxwell in early on.
- Siraj has picked up two wickets in three games so far this season, at an average of 55.00 and an economy rate of 10.00.
- Krunal has a favorable match-up against Maxwell, having dismissed him three times in 35 deliveries while conceding 42.
- Patidar’s breakthrough IPL century in the 2022 Eliminator, which shot him to instant stardom – making him the first uncapped Indian to hit a playoff ton – came against LSG.
RCB vs LSG: Predicted XIs
RCB likely XI : F du Plessis (C), Virat Kohli, C Green, GJ Maxwell, RM Patidar, Dinesh Karthik (wk.), Anuj Rawat, Mayank Dagar, Vijaykumar Vyshak, LH Ferguson, Mohammed Siraj
Impact Player : Mahipal Lomror
LSG likely XI : KL Rahul, Q de Kock (wk.), Devdutt Padikkal, Nicholas Pooran (C), MP Stoinis, KH Pandya, A Badoni, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohsin Khan, Mayank Yadav, Manimaran Siddharth
Impact Player : Naveen-Ul -Haq.
RCB vs LSG fantasy team : Virat Kohli (c), Quinton de Kock, KL Rahul, Nicholas Pooran, Dinesh Karthik, Anuj Rawat, Naveen-ul-Haq, Mohammed Siraj, Mayank Yadav, Mayank Dagar, Vyshak Vijay Kumar
RCB vs LSG prediction
According to Google’s win prediction, RCB have a 54 percent chance, compared to LSG’s 46.