Lucknow: Royal Challengers Bengaluru would look to secure play-off qualification while the struggling Lucknow Super Giants will aim to stay alive in the tournament when the two sides clash in the Indian Premier League here on Friday.
Pressure is mounting on LSG skipper Rishabh Pant with every passing game, with his lack of runs coinciding with the team’s slide in the business end of the tournament.
LSG have lost four of their last five games and can only reach 16 points if they win their remaining three games. 18 is a much safer number in the play-offs race and RCB would back themselves to get there after winning five of their last six games.
Pant, who became the highest-paid player at the IPL auction, has had a season to forget thus far. He has tried batting at different positions but consistency has eluded him. His strike rate of 99.92 sums up his struggles this season.
LSG have relied heavily on their top three, including Mitchell Marsh, Aiden Markram and Nicholas Pooran, but that will to have change if they are to go deep in the tournament.
“The dream is still alive. If we are going to win the next three matches, we definitely can turn it around. It makes sense when your top order is batting really well. Every match you can’t hope they will come off nicely,” said Pant following the loss to Punjab Kings in Dharamsala.
On the bowling front as well, they can improve a lot. Injury-prone pace sensation Mayank Yadav has proved expensive since his comeback. The fielding and catching of the team has also left a lot to be desired.
Chasing an elusive title, RCB, on the other hand, have enjoyed one of their most professional campaigns in IPL history.
Virat Kohli continues to pile on the runs with ridiculous consistency, having collected seven fifties in 11 innings.
He provides the platform and the likes of Rajat Patidar and more recently Romario Shepherd flex their muscle in the death overs.
Mayank Agarwal has joined the squad as a replacement for injured Devdutt Padikkal, who had reinvented himself this season.
The spin duo of Krunal Pandya and Suyash Sharma have been very effective while Josh Hazlewood and Yash Dayal have bowled the difficult overs with ease in the pace department.
LSG will need to come up with something special to halt the RCB juggernaut.
Squads:
LSG: Nicholas Pooran, Ravi Bishnoi, Mayank Yadav, Ayush Badoni, Rishabh Pant (c & wk), David Miller, Aiden Markram, Mitchell Marsh, Avesh Khan, Abdul Samad, Aryan Juyal, Akash Deep, Himmat Singh, Manimaran Siddharth, Digvesh Singh, Shahbaz Ahmed, Akash Singh, Shamar Joseph, Prince Yadav, Yuvraj Chaudhary, RS Hangargekar, Arshin Kulkarni, Matthew Breetzke, Mohsin Khan.
RCB: Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar (c), Swastik Chikara, Mayank Agarwal, Jitesh Sharma, Philip Salt, Manoj Bhandage, Tim David, Krunal Pandya, Liam Livingstone, Romario Shepherd, Jacob Bethell, Swapnil Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood, Nuwan Thushara, Lungi Ngidi, Yash Dayal, Rasikh Dar Salam, Suyash Sharma, Mohit Rathee, Abhinandan Singh.
Match starts 7.30 IST.
