Head to head battles: LSG vs RCB Eliminator

The first eliminator of the IPL 2022 is all set to batter down the doors of anticipations as the Royal Challengers Bangalore squares off against the mighty Lucknow Super Giants to decide who will be playing against the Rajasthan Royals in the second qualifier.

Before the cut and run drama unfolds at the Eden Gardens, here are five battles that could shape the knock-out classic.

1. Virat Kohli vs Avesh Khan

The last game between Gujarat Titans and the Challengers witnessed the kind of carnage that can happen if Virat gets going as he would effortlessly hammer the bowlers irrespective of their stature to the ropes. He would comfortably deal in boundaries and would fearlessly bring out the heavy artillery when the time came knocking. Avesh Khan, on the contrary, have been the honcho for the LSG bowling pack and can be an absolute destructor on his heyday, considering the kind of variation that he brings to the mix.

2. Josh Hazlewood vs KL Rahul

Hazlewood has suffered a couple of ordinary outings despite claiming a brace in the last game that would have a very subtle impact on the fray. However, before he would hit an unexpected snag, he has left the oppositions stuttering and one of his primary victims was the Lucknow Super Giants against whom he went all guns blazing, claiming a quartet that would leave the Giants toothless with a 4-fer the last time these two met. Rahul is a batter, you would never want to mess with and the IPL has not seen someone more consistent than the LSG captain in the last three years.

3. Wanindu Hasaranga vs Marcus Stoinis

Hasaranga will be vying for the Purple Cap once again as he would be taking the field against the mighty Giants and the best contest that he would facing is from Australian biffer, Marcus Stoinis who can totally flip the complexion of the game with his relentless big strikes. Hasaranga can also add a few crucial runs in the end, even though this trait of his has been relatively dormant in IPL 2022 whereas, Stoinis was the one who would go onto deal the coup de grace to Kolkata’s aspirations after taking a nasty hammering.