Royal Challengers Bengaluru have lost five matches out of nine they played at home since 2023. Home advantage is something RCB have failed to avail of and they need to find ways to rectify it at the earliest.
Match 15 of IPL 2024 will be the third home game for RCB having lost and won one each prior to it. The batting form of Faf Du Plessis and Glen Maxwell is a cause of concern for them, with a bowling unit overhaul looking required as they have failed miserably. Cameroon Green has been ordinary for the most part and it will be interesting to see if they look towards someone like Will Jacks who can provide them a spin option as well. Reece Topley or Lockie Ferguson for Alzarri Joseph is predictable as the West Indian has leaked too many runs with the ball.
On the other hand, LSG is looking ominous as a batting unit with their three top batters- KL Rahul, Quinton De Kock and Nicholas Pooran have had a fifty plus score to their name in 2 outings each. Bowling is a bit of a worry for them as their ace spinner Ravi Bishnoi has not looked effective so far and picked up a solitary wicket in two matches giving away runs at 9 RPO. The most interesting phase of the match can be when LSG’s bowling sensation Mayank Yadav, whose pace at the Ekana Stadium against Punjab Kings caused quite a stir among opposition batsmen, will be up against batting maestros of RCB.
The form of Devdutt Padikkal is troubling, but he is expected to retain his place against his former team. Lokesh Rahul may continue to play as an impact player as his fitness issues are not over, with Nicholas Pooran carrying on with captaincy duties.
Probable Playing XI-
Royal Challengers Bengaluru-
Virat Kohli, Faf Du Plessis (C), Cameroon Green/Will Jacks, Rajat Patidar, Glen Maxwell, Anuj Rawat (WK), Dinesh Karthik, Mayank Dagar, Mohammad Siraj, Lockie Ferguson/Reece Topley, Yash Dayal
(Impact subs- Mahipal Lomror, Suyash Prabhudessai, Karn Sharma, Vijaykumar Vyshak)
Lucknow Supergiants-
Lokesh Rahul (C), Quinton De Kock (WK), Devdutt Padikkal, Marcus Stoinis, Nicholas Pooran, Ayush Badoni, Krunal Pandya, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohsin Khan, Mayank Yadav, M Siddharth/ Yash Thakur
(Impact subs- Naveen Ul Haq, Deepak Hooda, Ashton Turner, Amit Mishra, K Gowtham)
Stats Corner and Interesting things-
- RCB have won three out of 4 matches between two teams so far.
- Quinton De Kock needs 35 runs to complete 3000 runs in IPL. He will be the eighth foreigner to do so.
- Virat Kohli is just six runs away from completing 7500 runs in the IPL. He will be the first to reach as many runs in the tournament history.
- In the last 4 innings at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, Virat Kohli has scored in excess of 50+ every time. More to it, he has 7 fifty plus scores here in the last 9 outings.
- Nicholas Pooran averages 54 at M Chinnaswamy Stadium while striking at 229.79 in two matches.
- Virat Kohli has scored 36 runs off 41 balls against Ravi Bishnoi at Strike rate of 87.8
Pitch and Weather Report-
The pitch at Chinnaswamy is known for getting easier while chasing and the first two fixtures here this season tell the same story. It is overall a batting paradise with bowlers getting some help off the pitch in the first innings. Win the toss and choose to bowl is a go to idea.
Weather will likely be clear throughout the match with temperature touching 32 as the highest and go down to 27 during the latter stage of the match.
Match details-
Date & Time - 7:30 PM IST, 02 April 2024
Venue - M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru
Live Broadcast - Star Sports Network
Live Streaming - Jio Cinema App
Dream XI Team-
