Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) will look to revive their batting rhythm after a rare collapse as they take on bottom-placed Lucknow Super Giants in a crucial reverse-leg IPL clash here on Thursday.
Currently second on the table, RCB are locked on 12 points with four other teams, making every match vital in the race to the playoffs.
They head into the contest on the back of a four-wicket defeat to Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad, where their batting suffered a dramatic meltdown — sliding from 79 for 2 to 96 for 6 in the space of three overs before being bowled out for 155.
Despite the collapse, RCB's batting this season has largely revolved around aggressive intent.
Virat Kohli has been in sublime form with 379 runs, while Devdutt Padikkal and skipper Rajat Patidar have also made important contributions.
With regular opener Phil Salt ruled out due to a finger injury, the responsibility of providing explosive starts alongside Kohli will rest on Jacob Bethell.
Bethell showcased his immense talent during the recent T20 World Cup and it is only a matter of time before unleashes his full range of strokes in the IPL.
Having had a week's break, RCB will head into the contest fresher than their opponents.
In contrast, LSG are languishing at the bottom of the standings after losing five of their last six matches.
Their lone success in that period came against Kolkata Knight Riders via a Super Over in a tied game, but it failed to arrest their slide as they were comprehensively beaten by Mumbai Indians by six wickets in their previous outing.
LSG's campaign has unravelled due to inconsistent performances, tactical instability and repeated failures to close out matches.
Key batters such as Mitchell Marsh, skipper Rishabh Pant, Aiden Markram and Nicholas Pooran have struggled for consistency, while frequent reshuffling of the batting order has further compounded their problems.
Pant, in particular, finds himself under scrutiny over his white-ball form.
LSG's batting line-up now faces a formidable RCB bowling attack spearheaded by veteran Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Australia pacer Josh Hazlewood.
The experienced duo have operated effectively in tandem this season, notably dismantling Delhi Capitals for just 75 on April 27.
Seamer Bhuvneshwar has been among the leading wicket-takers, making the most of the new-ball, while Hazlewood has consistently delivered high-impact spells.
Krunal Pandya too has enjoyed an impressive campaign, claiming nine wickets and troubling batters with an effective bouncer variation.
Suyash Sharma and Romario Shepherd also impressed in the previous game, although RCB's batting collapse proved decisive in the defeat to GT.
For LSG, Prince Yadav and Mohsin Khan have been the standout bowlers with 13 and 10 wickets respectively.
Mohammed Shami started the season strongly but has struggled for consistency and leaked runs in recent matches.
LSG's pace attack has repeatedly lost control in the death overs, allowing opponents to accelerate sharply and will face a tough task when they face RCB batters.
RCB had defeated LSG by five wickets in the first leg and will come into the match with a lot of confidence.
Teams:
Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Rajat Patidar (c), Tim David, Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, Philip Salt, Jitesh Sharma, Jacob Bethell, Krunal Pandya, Romario Shepherd, Abhinandan Singh, Josh Hazlewood, Rasikh Salam Dar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Suyash Sharma, Swapnil Singh, Nuwan Thushara, Venkatesh Iyer, Jacob Duffy, Mangesh Yadav, Jordan Cox, Vicky Ostwal, Vihaan Malhotra, Kanishk Chouhan, Satvik Deswal.
Lucknow Super Giants: Rishabh Pant (c&wk), Abdul Samad, Akshat Raghuvanshi, Ayush Badoni, Mukul Choudhary, Himmat Singh, Josh Inglis (wk), Aiden Markram, Nicholas Pooran (wk), Arshin Kulkarni, George Linde, Mitchell Marsh, Shahbaz Ahmed, Akash Singh, Avesh Khan, Mohammed Shami, Mohsin Khan, Anrich Nortje, Prince Yadav, Digvesh Rathi, Manimaran Siddharth, Arjun Tendulkar, Naman Tiwari, Mayank Yadav.
Match starts at 7:30pm IST.
(With inputs from PTI)
