Can the Royal Challengers Bangalore continue their winning streak and secure a hat-trick of victories over Lucknow super kings?
KL Rahul, who plays for Karnataka, will be returning to his home ground with his team to face Royal Challengers Bangalore in the 15th game of the IPL at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on 10th April from 7:30 pm onwards. Lucknow Super Giants have won 2 out of their 3 games so far, while RCB has won one and lost one in their first two games. In their previous match against Kolkata Knight Riders, RCB were in a dominant position after reducing KKR to 89 for 5 wickets while batting first. However, Shardul Thakur's late heroics helped KKR post a massive total of 205 as he scored 68 off just 29 balls against the weak RCB bowling attack. David Willey and Karn Sharma were the only RCB bowlers to take 2 wickets each. Chasing the target of 205, RCB struggled throughout the innings and eventually got all out for 123, losing the game by 81 runs.
RCB's performance in their first two games can be summarized as one game with dominance and another with submission. It seems that if the openers lose early wickets, then the batting order might crumble. Kohli and du Plessis will be opening the innings for RCB. Faf has scored 96 runs in the last season against LSG, while Kohli's strike rate in two games is 100. Kohli will be the top batter to watch out for.
RCB opted to go with Bracewell in the second game at number three, but the power hitter ended up scoring only 19 runs. To optimize his batting skills, RCB should send him at lower down the order, which has worked for him in the past. Impact player Anuj Rawat might play at number three based on the game's situation. Glenn Maxwell is having a tough time after coming out of injury, with just 17 runs in the first two games, indicating that he might take time to gel with the IPL 2023. Dinesh Karthik has a strike rate of 161.29 against LSG, and his late-order heroics will be necessary for RCB to win the game if the top-order crumbles.
RCB's bowling unit is their weakest link. Against MI, they conceded 122 runs in the last 11 overs after restricting MI to 48 for 4 in the first 9 overs. Whereas, against KKR, they went for 113 runs in the last 11 overs after bowling out half the opposition in the first 9 overs. David Willey will be the bowler from the RCB side, having taken 2 for 16, bowling a maiden over. Hasaranga will join RCB camp on the 8th after flying from New Zealand, but his inclusion in the playing XI is in doubt. Hasaranga was the second leading wicket-taker in the last IPL with 26 wickets in 16 games.
KL Rahul will be eager to face his former team RCB, as he has a fantastic record against them, averaging 76.25 in 13 games. He has scored 610 runs in these matches at a strike rate of 147.70, making him the key player to watch out for from the LSG camp. The team is currently unsure how to utilize Quinton de Kock, but Kyle Myers is safe in his position after scoring two half-centuries in three games and bowling economically.
Krunal Pandya had an impressive game against SRH, taking three wickets and scoring 34 runs, which will keep him motivated to perform well against RCB. He has scored 152 runs and taken 12 wickets in 14 games against RCB. Nicholas Pooran has also been in good form, scoring 79 runs in three games at a strike rate of 175.55. Although LSG won their last game without Mark Wood and Avesh Khan, both players will return for the game against RCB. Wood, who has taken eight wickets in two games, will be the top bowler with his sheer pace.
Ravi Bishnoi will lead the spin attack, having taken six wickets in three games at an economy of 6.25. Amit Mishra debuted for LSG in the last game, claiming two wickets at an economy of 5.75. It will be interesting to see how LSG's spinners perform against RCB's batters, who lost nine wickets to the KKR spin attack in their last game.
Royal Challengers Bangalore Probable XI :Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis (c), Glenn Maxwell, Michael Bracewell, Shahbaz Ahmed, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Karn Sharma, Harshal Patel, Akash Deep, David Willey, Mohammed Siraj.
Lucknow Super Giants Probable XI :KL Rahul (c), Kyle Mayers, Deepak Hooda, Marcus Stoinis, Nicholas Pooran (wk), Mark Wood, Krunal Pandya, Amit Mishra, Yash Thakur, Avesh Khan, Ravi Bishnoi
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