Cracker of a contest on the cards as an in-form RCB take on formidable Lucknow

On a fine Tuesday evening, Dr. DY Patil Stadium will play host to another swashbuckling contest of the willow and the leather as the Royal Challengers Bangalore will be squaring off with the Lucknow Super Giants as one may label it as a true clash of the Titans given the phenomenal form that they are a part of.

The Challengers will be coming fresh from an emphatic win as they managed to tame a soaring Delhi Capitals with some ecstatic bowling and fielding that was the perfect tribute to Dinesh Karthik’s impeccable knock in the tail end of the RCB innings.

The Super Giants have had a dream start to their campaign and managed to add another win to their tally as they romped over the Mumbai Indians in a high-scoring stramash. Their batters have pulled off a phenomenal display that has so far ironed the kinks but somehow the solidity that ideally should be associated with a team hunting for the top spots, has been missing.

The Challengers will be hoping that their top-order delivers even though through their lean patch, the middle order has been putting up performances that have held the team together.

This will be a titanic collision of two reckoning forces who are in fine form and are forging an important habit of winning, something that is contagious and infectious at the same time.

Venue Watch:

The last two games played out here witnessed a predominance of the bowlers with three innings producing three scores lesser than 160 in an edition that has seen the batters ruling the roost with an iron fist. There will be a slight presence of green that will be providing the much-needed assistance to the bowlers in the early half of the game with the surface getting trickier with every passing second. However, the team chasing will have a slight advantage given the onset of the dew, making it harder for the spinners to grip the ball.

Battles to watch out for:

Faf du Plessis versus Quinton de Kock – Faf has struggled to find the all-important runs barring the season opener where he smashed a fiery 88 but it couldn’t contribute to the winning cause of the team. Despite the grim situation that he has found himself in the midst of, the cricketing world is very well aware of the kind of carnage that he can bring to the table if he manages to get his eyes in. Quinton de Kock is an absolute beast in the shortest format of the sport and if he manages to get a start, there won’t be a second chance for the bowlers.

Virat Kohli versus KL Rahul – Two of the finest cricketers of the Indian cricket team will be going up against each other in this chequered rivalry and both doesn’t believe in many smiles when they are on the field. Rahul has mastery over his emotions as he can put on that phlegmatic face while he takes the bowlers for a toss. Virat Kohli, on the contrary, wears his heart on his sleeves.

Mohammed Siraj versus Avesh Khan – Siraj showed signs of getting his momentum back in the last game where he was pretty economical and also claimed a crucial wicket that saw Virat Kohli bagging a thunderous effort to remove Rishabh Pant. Despite being on the expensive side in the ongoing edition of the tournament, Siraj has refused to simply give up. Avesh Khan has proven himself to be a game-changer for the Lucknow Super Giants. He has claimed 11 wickets so far and will be hopeful of another decent display.

Squads:

Royal Challengers Bangalore:

Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell, Mohammed Siraj, Faf du Plessis, Harshal Patel, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dinesh Karthik, Josh Hazlewood, Shahbaz Ahmed, Anuj Rawat, Akash Deep, Mahipal Lomror, Finn Allen, Sherfane Rutherford, Jason Behrendorff, Suyash Prabhudesai, Chama Milind, Aneeshwar Gautam, Karn Sharma, David Willey, Luvnith Sisodia, Siddharth Kaul.

Lucknow Super Giants:

KL Rahul (c & wk), Quinton de Kock (wk), Manish Pandey, Deepak Hooda, Krunal Pandya, Evin Lewis, Marcus Stoinis, Jason Holder, Andrew Tye, Kyle Mayers, Avesh Khan, Dushmantha Chameera, Ravi Bishnoi, Ayush Badoni, Manan Vohra, Krishnappa Gowtham, Shahbaz Nadeem, Ankit Rajpoot, Mayank Yadav, Mohsin Khan, Karan Sharma.

Match details:

Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Lucknow Super Giants

Venue: Dr DY Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai

Date: 18th April 2022

Time: 7:30 PM IST