Pitch Report | Deep Dasgupta and Matthew Hayden: We are right in the center of the ground, so not much of a bias - 64m and 66m square boundaries, downtown is 74m. It's this mixed pitch right in the center which is Orissa black and Mumbai red. A beautiful wicket. Is it tacky? These dark patches that you see around, is there moisture in it? Well, I can assure you folks, there's no moisture in it but it is quite hard underneath. It's got a nice covering of grass. Is it a 200 wicket? I am not sure. The last time, it wasn't, it was a mid-160s-type wicket. I sense that the fast bowlers are going to bowl a lot of cutters into the wicket. Spinners this evening, I think it's going to turn and I am not sure about the bounce. we'll have to check that out as the innings progresses, might not be as some of the other blocks that we see here in Lucknow. These thick bunches of grass patches that we see, that might play a little differently.
Hazlewood to miss out today? We are hearing that Josh Hazlewood may not play this contest
As for the Lucknow Super Giants, it has been a season of two halves. Having won 5 of their first 8 games, LSG looked firm favourites to make it to the playoffs at the halfway stage, but not to be. They only managed one win from their last 5 games and would love to end the season on a high. A win will ensure they finish 6th on the table, and a loss would mean they, high likely, finish 8th. Marsh. Markram and Pooran have had the season that was expected of them, and Digvesh Rathi put his hand up with the ball on most occasions. Barring these 4, the rest couldn't display continued consistency which hurt their chances very badly in the second half of the season. The fact that RCB lost a game in Lucknow just a couple of days ago should offer a ray of optimism for the Pant-led side.
18:30 local, 13:00 GMT: Is this the year for RCB? Can they make it to the top two? Hello and a warm welcome to the final league game of the season. Without trying to overcook the obvious, a straightforward equation beckons RCB. Win and play Punjab Kings in the Qualifier 1 on Thursday. A loss would mean RCB will lock horns with Mumbai Indians on Friday. Important to note that both those games would be held in Chandigarh. And next week, by this time we would be building up towards the final of the mega event. In order to get there quite smoothly, RCB have to win two games in the space of 3 days. Sure, it is going to be challenging, but the fact that RCB have won nearly everything away from home should give them heaps of confidence going into this contest.
Preview :
The equation is simple for Royal Challengers Bengaluru: beat Lucknow Super Giants and seal a top-two finish.
That task, though, comes with a bit of baggage. RCB were handed a heavy defeat by Sunrisers Hyderabad at this very venue in Lucknow a few days ago. But what should offer them more confidence is their overall away record this season. That loss to SRH, even though it came in what was technically a "home game" in these unusual circumstances, was their first outside Chinnaswamy. The fact that this match and the playoffs that follow are set to be played in Lucknow, Mullanpur and Ahmedabad should only add to RCB's optimism.
After an indifferent restart to their campaign since the resumption of IPL, what will also bolster RCB is the return of Josh Hazlewood, who is back from Brisbane after attending to a shoulder niggle.
For LSG, the game offers a chance to finish the season on a high, especially at home that's been a mixed bag all season. They snapped a four-match losing streak with a win over an impressive Gujarat Titans side in Ahmedabad the other day, a timely reminder of what this team is capable of, and now a win in Lucknow to end the season would be a cherry on the top.
On top of that, the couple of sixes that captain Rishabh Pant struck in that match against GT came as a welcome sight. This fixture for him would be another chance to find some rhythm and remind everyone why he remains central to this side.
What to expect: It was a high-scoring affair between SRH and RCB at this venue a few days ago, and something similar could be on the cards again, but much will depend on the colour of the pitch that's picked, black or red soil. The long boundaries here will once again test the power-hitters and the heat will continue to remain a factor.
Head to head: RCB marginally lead 3-2 with five games played between the two sides. RCB have also won the only game contested, at this venue, between the two sides in 2023.
Team news
Lucknow Super Giants
Injuries/unavailability concerns: Aiden Markram, beckoned by Cricket South Africa (CSA) to prepare for the World Test Championship final, will not be available for this match. Aryan Juyal, who bats in the top-three in domestic cricket, could be handed a debut. Digvesh Rathi, who missed the last match owing to a suspension, will be back in the selection mix.
Tactics & Matchups: Lucknow Super Giants have scored the most number of runs against spin this season with 861 runs at a strike-rate of 158.33. They have also lost the least number of wickets to this art of bowling amongst all teams this season - 18. Against a RCB spin-attack which recently came under the pump by SRH, LSG will look to capitalise on the eight overs of spin bowled their way.
Probable XII: Mitchell Marsh, Aryan Juyal, Nicholas Pooran, Rishabh Pant(wk/c), Ayush Badoni, Abdul Samad, Shardul Thakur/Akash Singh, Akash Deep, Avesh Khan, Shahbaz Ahmed, Digvesh Singh Rathi, William O'Rourke
Royal Challengers Bengaluru
Injuries/unavailability concerns: Jacob Bethell and Lungi Ngidi have left for national duties. Josh Hazlewood has joined the squad but it remains to be seen if RCB field him straight away. Blessing Muzarabani, who's linked up with the squad after featuring in the Nottingham Test, could be handed a cap if Hazlewood doesn't make the cut. Rajat Patidar, who's recovering from a finger injury, played as an Impact Player in the last match and it remains to be seen if he's progressed well enough to return to captaincy duties, else Jitesh Sharma should serve as the stand-in once again.
Tactics & Matchups: Virat Kohli has a superb record against two of LSG's fast-bowlers in the IPL namely, Shardul Thakur and Avesh Khan. He strikes at 163.63 and 170.73 against them respectively and has lost his wicket to them only thrice across the IPL.
Probable XII: Philip Salt, Virat Kohli, Mayank Agarawal, Rajat Patidar (c), Jitesh Sharma(wk), Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yash Dayal, Josh Hazlewood/Blessing Muzarabani, Suyash Sharma
Did you know?
-RCB have won all six of their away games so far this season. No team has won all their allotted away games in a single season in IPL history.
- Mitchell Marsh and Aiden Markram have scored 574 runs together as a partnership. It is the second highest number of runs scored by an overseas pair in an IPL edition behind David Warner and Jonny Bairstow's 791 runs in IPL 2019.
- LSG's have top-three have scored 17 fifties between them. Marsh and Markram have scored six each while Nicholas Pooran has scored five.
- After scoring 161 runs in his first four games, Rajat Patidar has amassed a mere 96 runs in the last seven games for RCB.
What they said:
"It is a fact that we lost the last game after a big break and it is down to a lot of reasons, not having played in the last 3 weeks, being a little rusty and it has been documented very well that it was a good knock on the chin for us, a good wake-up call and now looking forward, even though we have guaranteed a place in one of the playoff games, it is important to focus on Lucknow Super Giants (LSG)", RCB's spin-bowling coach Malolan Rangarajan
Squads:
Royal Challengers Bengaluru Squad: Philip Salt, Virat Kohli, Mayank Agarawal, Rajat Patidar(c), Jitesh Sharma(w), Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Tim David, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yash Dayal, Suyash Sharma, Rasikh Dar Salam, Manoj Bhandage, Swapnil Singh, Liam Livingstone, Mohit Rathee, Swastik Chikara, Abhinandan Singh, Josh Hazlewood, Nuwan Thushara, Blessing Muzarabani
Lucknow Super Giants Squad: Mitchell Marsh, Aryan Juyal, Nicholas Pooran, Rishabh Pant(w/c), Ayush Badoni, Abdul Samad, Himmat Singh, Shahbaz Ahmed, Akash Deep, Avesh Khan, William ORourke, Akash Maharaj Singh, Ravi Bishnoi, Manimaran Siddharth, David Miller, Arshin Kulkarni, Shardul Thakur, Digvesh Singh Rathi, Prince Yadav, Matthew Breetzke, RS Hangargekar, Yuvraj Chaudhary
Lucknow Super Giants
Royal Challengers Bengaluru
