RCB VS LSG IPL 2024 Match Preview: Royal Challengers seek resurgence in battle at home against Supergiants

RCB vs LSG IPL 2024 with Virat Kohli and KL Rahul

Virat Kohli 181 and Dinesh Karthik 86 – that is the gap in the three-match aggregate of the top two Royal Challengers Bengaluru batters. Yash Dayal is the most successful bowler in the tournament for RCB with three wickets from as many matches. Faf du Plessis-led combine will have a lot of issues to address in their own set up as they host Lucknow SuperGiants at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru today (Tuesday).

Virat Kohli’s class only silver lining

But for the classic Virat Kohli, nothing is going right for RCB this season. They languished in the ninth position, just above win-less Mumbai Indians, after three matches.

RCB, chasing their maiden IPL title, must do the turnaround fast to achieve the first goal of being among the top four teams in the league stage. But for Kohli’s match-defining 77 in the win against Punjab Kings in their last match at home, RCB could have drawn blank in the tournament so far.

RCB top order’s unwarranted consistency

RCB top order of du Plessis, Glenn Maxwell, Rajat Patidar and Cameron Green has ironically been consistent in their failures. Have a look at their three-match average and strike rate – du Plessis (46 runs at 15.33 average and 127.77 SR), Maxwell (31 runs, average 10.33 and 124 SR); Green (54 runs, Average 18 and SR 112.5) and Patidar (21 runs, Average 7 and SR 84).

RCB will have no option but to enforce a change or two in their top order batting. Patidar, carrying his morale-shattering form from the three Tests in his debut Test series against England last month, can be benched to boost the middle order with a new enforcement.

The RCB lower order, mainly Karthik (86 runs, 3 innings) and Anuj Rawat (62 runs, 3 innings), has enabled the team to last their 20 overs in the last three outings.

Bowlers also not helping RCB cause

If your most successful bowler in the tournament, Yash Dayal, has picked just three wickets in as many matches, you cannot be the team worth the big names in your dressing room. Mohammed Siraj, the pace spearhead with just two wickets from 11 over and a 10-run per over economy, is only adding to the teams overall woes. Even worse, Alzarri Joseph has just one success against his name after 3 matches, 9.4 overs, 115 runs and an economy of 11.89.

There are worries all over and a complete turnaround is the need of the hour for RCB to stay in contention.

The spin unit, led by Maxwell, too has failed to weave a magic to lift the gloom. Ironically, there are not many options available to juggle the XI to form a winning formula.

Concerns about KL Rahul’s fitness

LSG, sixth on the table with one win and one loss, too aren’t without their share of concerns.

Rahul had returned from a long injury-induced lay off to lead SuperGiants. In only their second match of the season, the Lucknow franchisee were compelled to play him as an impact player. You don’t do that with your designated captain unless in an unavoidable situation. Nicholas Pooran coming in for the toss against Punjab Kings was an indication that all is not well with Rahul on the fitness front.

On the eve of their match with RCB, the visitors are having their fingers crossed regarding Rahul’s availability on Tuesday. He batted in the nets and participated in the other exercise routines. But, Rahul did not keep wickets.

A scenario of the LSG regular skipper again coming in as an impact player looms large. If he is not able to keep wickets, the team might not take the risk of making him field for 20 overs, in any position.

Rahul has failed as an impact player, managing just 15 off nine balls in the match against Punjab Kings.

All eyes on pace sensation Mayank Yadav

Deliveries at 155 kmph are not the kind of stuff Indian bowlers are known for. But the 21-year-old Mayank Yadav grabbed attention on his IPL debut against Punjab Kings, attaining the 150 kmph pace off his first ball in the tournament. He had returned the match-winning fit

The 21-year-old Delhi tearaway pacer made an instant impression against Punjab Kings, bagging three wickets. He also clocked the quickest delivery of this IPL – a 155.8 kmph thunderbolt. The Lucknow pitch didn’t have much for the bowlers, where Yadav’s 3/27 was the best figures of the match.

He will no longer be a surprise element at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. The batters will come well prepared. It will be interesting to see how passes that test on the Chinnaswamy Stadium surface that would offer little assistance and shorter boundaries will persuade the home team batters to take aerial root.

Head to Head Record

Past record against LSG, however, will give RCB some hope. In the four meetings between the two teams so far, RBC have won three and lost just one match to LSG.

RCB vs LSG Squads:

Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Faf du Plessis (c), Glenn Maxwell, Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Anuj Rawat, Dinesh Karthik, Suyash Prabhudessai, Will Jacks, Mahipal Lomror, Karn Sharma, Manoj Bhandage, Mayank Dagar, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj, Reece Topley, Himanshu Sharma, Rajan Kumar, Cameron Green, Alzarri Joseph, Yash Dayal, Tom Curran, Lockie Ferguson, Swapnil Singh, Saurav Chauhan.

Lucknow SuperGiants: KL Rahul (c), Quinton de Kock, Nicholas Pooran, Ayush Badoni, Kyle Mayers, Marcus Stoinis, Deepak Hooda, Devdutt Padikkal, Ravi Bishnoi, Naveen-ul-Haq, Krunal Pandya, Yudhvir Singh, Prerak Mankad, Yash Thakur, Amit Mishra, Shamar Joseph, Mayank Yadav, Mohsin Khan, K. Gowtham, Shivam Mavi, Arshin Kulkarni, M. Siddharth, Ashton Turner, Matt Henry, Mohd. Arshad Khan.

Match starts at 7.30 PM IST.