Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) will host Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the ongoing Indian Premier Legaue (IPL) on Monday.
RCB have struggled to maintain momentum provided by Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis and Glenn Maxwell, who have done all the scoring in the eight games so far and it is high time the likes of Mahipal Lomror, Shahbaz Ahmed and Dinesh Karthik step up.
LSG, on the other hand, head into the game after a thumping victory against Punjab Kings. The batting performance against Punjab was a testament to the firepower they possess. No total is safe when Kyle Mayers, Marcus Stoinis and Nicholas Pooran get going.
Ahead of the mouth-watering clash, here’s the tip-off XI:
Virat Kohli to lead
Virat Kohli will continue to lead RCB unless regular captain Faf du Plessis, who has been used as an ‘Impact Player’, regains full fitness. It’s been three games now that they’ve not used the Impact Player rule to full capacity just so that du Plessis only bats and Harshal Patel, who is also nursing a finger injury, only bowls.
Hazlewood for Willey
Fit-again Josh Hazlewood might make his return to the playing XI. David Willey, who sustained a foot injury in the previous game is likely to make way for Hazlewood. It is a blessing in disguise for RCB as Hazlewood has completed his rehab for an Achilles injury under the franchise and Cricket Australia’s supervision.
Injury scare for Stoinis
Marcus Stoinis, who injured his index injury against Punjab Kings could potentially rule him out from the match. The all-rounder has undergone a scan and although it doesn’t seem very serious but team management might give him a break. West Indies Romario Shepherd will be a like-for-like replacement for Stoinis in case the Australian missed the match.
Pitch
The surfaces at Lucknow have been slow and have aided turn. Spinners will yet again have a massive say and with bigger boundaries and dew doesn’t making any effect would be a welcome change for the RCB.
LSG vs RCB predicted XI
LSG XI: KL Rahul (c), Kyle Mayers, Ayush Badoni, Nicholas Pooran (wk), 6 Krunal Pandya, Deepak Hooda, Romario Shepherd, Naveen-ul-Haq, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, Yash Thakur
Impact player – Amit Mishra
RCB XI: Virat Kohli (c), Faf du Plessis, Mahipal Lomror, Glenn Maxwell, Shahbaz Ahmed, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Suyash Prabhudessai, Wanindu Hasaranga, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Josh Hazlewood, Mohammed Siraj
Impact player – Harshal Patel
Squads
Lucknow Super Giants: KL Rahul (c), Kyle Mayers, Deepak Hooda, Krunal Pandya, Amit Mishra, Nicholas Pooran (wk), Naveen ul Haq, Ayush Badoni, Avesh Khan, Karan Sharma, Yudhvir Charak, Yash Thakur, Romario Shepherd, Mark Wood, Swapnil Singh, Manan Vohra, Daniel Sams, Prerak Mankad, Krishnappa Gowtham, Jaydev Unadkat, Marcus Stoinis, Ravi Bishnoi and Mayank Yadav.
Royal Challengers Bangalore: Faf du Plessis (c), Akash Deep, Finn Allen, Anuj Rawat, Avinash Singh, Manoj Bhandage, Michael Bracewell, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dinesh Karthik, Siddarth Kaul, Virat Kohli, Mahipal Lomror, Glenn Maxwell, Mohammed Siraj, Wayne Parnell, Harshal Patel, Suyash Prabhudessai, Rajan Kumar, Shahbaz Ahmed, Karn Sharma, Himanshu Sharma, Sonu Yadav, Vijaykumar Vyshak, David Willey.
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First published on: 01-05-2023 at 11:30 IST
