Lucknow Super Giants will aim to disturb RCB’s playoff chances as Rishabh Pant’s side will face a rampant Bengaluru at the Ekana stadium in Lucknow. LSG is at the bottom and is mathematically disqualified, although not official but the season is now over for them yet, it could cause some chaos for the top four teams.
LSG and RCB has been a rivalry which is unspoken and relatively unknown and yet, there were some heated moments when these teams met. Who could forget that fight between Virat Kohli and Naveen Ul-Haq in 2023, the incident grabbed several eyeballs and both players paid a hefty fine for the same. A win for RCB can take them top of points table with 14 points.
Since then, the rivalry went up by ten notches and every time these two teams met, the crowd expected new things and the excitement reached its peak. However, this year the competition is there but the excitement may have dropped significantly due to Lucknow’s current position and the team’s overall confidence. It won’t be wrong to say that LSG vs RCB has slowly become a one-sided contest. Virat Kohli will be all geared for the game and so will be Mohammed Shami because he has been a demon against Virat in the IPL.
Head to Head
It stands against LSG with a massive 5-2 ratio. Seeing the record, it is clear that RCB will be the winner but there is a twist. Virat Kohli has been dismissed five times by Mohammed Shami and four times by Avesh Khan hence Rishabh might be tempted to give Shami and Avesh the new ball and keep Kohli quiet. Kohli has averaged only 25 and has a strike rate of 170 against Avesh Khan, while against Shami his average drops to a significant low, 21.40 with only 8 runs scored per over. This shows the class of Shami against a legend like Kohli.
Amongst this, there is a positive for RCB, which is the fast bowling and the spin department. Throughout the IPL RCB has been winning matches on the back of some high-class fast bowling from Hazelwood and Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Bhuvneshwar also is the purple cap holder for RCB with 17 wickets and Krunal Pandya has just improved since joining RCB as he has developed some variations and control in his pace. He surprises the batsmen with his bouncer and a slight change in the action every ball makes him difficult to pick. the elder Pandya has a good matchup against Aiden Markram and has dismissed the South African thrice in eight balls.
LSG
It has been an awful tournament for Lucknow because of the confused state. Imagine a team with power-hitters like Pooran and Marsh, sitting at the bottom and ending the season at the bottom. LSG was thought to be the most promising team and a team which had full potential, but it went terribly wrong for them.
Pant as a captain, has been over-casual at times, plus his personal form is one to forget. In 9 matches Pant has scored only one half-century. In spite of Pant being the third-highest run scorer, it has not been his season. Averaging 25 in 9 matches and scoring only 204 runs, this is how Pant season has been so far.
Another major point to discuss here, is the stark difference between LSG players’ record on paper and their on-field performance. Mitchell Marsh is the leading run scorer for LSG with 256 runs but on the field and with the bat, he seems very lost. Similarly, Markram who is the second-best batsman has not found his feet yet.
LSG management is also to be blamed for Markram’s situation as it has continuously played with his batting position. In the initial matches, Markram was the opener but since the last few matches, it was Bodoni and later Josh Inglis who opened with Mitchell Marsh.
Such is the confusion among LSG group. Even Rishabh was tried at number three in some matches while opened in some games. Overall, LSG seem to lack clarity in the role assignments of players and hence it has been reflecting on the field. Another talking point is the form of Nicholas Pooran this IPL. Pooran one of the hitters from LSG, has managed only 145 runs in 9 games and his strike rate is not even 120. Pooran’s form has been a major concern for LSG because he was one of the reasons behind LSG’s success until 2024.
Positives for LSG and RCB
RCB has been fortunate to have Virat Kohli for 18 years and this season Virat has amassed 379 runs in 9 games eventually owning the orange cap. His on-field presence scares the opposition and has a huge impact. Apart from Virat’s form, Devdutt Padikkal has been in golden form and is only behind Kohli with 282 runs.
RCB captain Rajat Patidar has been exceptional against spinners too, in fact his strike rate has gone way up while playing spin this season. The bowlers have done it time and again for RCB. Both Bhuvneshwar and Hazlewood combined have picked up 25 wickets and the deadly trio of Bhuvneshwar, Krunal, and Hazlewood is in the top three wicket takers.
While for LSG, Shami has been brilliant. Ignored from the national team for a year, Shami has proved everyone wrong with some staggering performances in the IPL. 8 wickets in 9 games, Shami is the third highest wicket taker for LSG while Prince Yadav has been a wonderful pick for LSG. He is not only the highest wicket taker but his ability to bowl slower balls when needed is simply outstanding. LSG have great bowling side and a great batting side as well but it is only the under-clarity that the players have.
Who will win today?
It is tough saying, but the stats lie in the favour of RCB. RCB this year has been a step ahead than other teams. It has the players; it has the experience and the momentum. LSG must look to play for pride and take one match at a time. Although officially disqualified, LSG can create ruckus and halt RCB’s chances of playoffs. Speaking about Lucknow’s pitch, It will be a slow wicket as we have seen throughout the IPL, with a low-scoring game. The highest score at Lucknow is 165 but remember that RCB chased a mammoth 227 last year against LSG.
Probably 11:
RCB – Virat Kohli, Jacob Bethell, Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar ©, Tim David, Josh Hazelwood, Suyash Sharma, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jitesh Sharma, WK, Rasikh Dar
LSG – Rishabh Pant WK ©, Aiden Markram, Ayush Bodoni, Mitchell Marsh, Nicholas Pooran, Mohammed Shami, Avesh Khan, Prince Yadav, Mohsin Khan, Josh Inglis, Himmat Singh
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