In the previous match, RCB once again relied on Virat Kohli as they reached 182, a target that seemed quite competitive at the time. However, they ended up losing with over three overs to spare, raising some important questions. Virat Kohli scored 83 runs at a strike rate of 140.68, but perhaps that wasn’t enough for today’s T20 cricket. If you’re facing nearly 50% of the deliveries, you should be scoring a bit faster. However, the more serious mistake lies with the batting lineup around him. Players like Cameron Green and Glenn Maxwell got starts but couldn’t convert them into anything substantial. Faf du Plessis has been out of form since the start of IPL, and Rajat Patidar looked completely out of place. It was only due to late hitting from Dinesh Karthik and Anuj Rawat that RCB managed to salvage some pride. There’s no doubt that RCB’s batsmen will have to step up against LSG in this match. It might be a bit challenging to contend with unless Green or Maxwell have a fruitful night. RCB’s bowling attack is facing significant challenges. Mohammed Siraj, Alzarri Joseph, and Yash Dayal were taken to the cleaners in the previous match. Throughout the season, they’ve been struggling to make an impact, and perhaps it’s time to give Cameron Green more overs. Fortunately, Mank Dagar was a good pick, and Vijaykumar Vyshak also performed very well in the previous match. We expect one or two changes in the RCB lineup, with the positions of Rajat Patidar and Yash Dayal being the most precarious.
LSG secured a convincing victory over PBKS in their previous match and took a lot of positives from it. Quinton de Kock scored valuable runs, Nicholas Pooran continues to demonstrate that he is one of the best T20 batsmen in the world, and Krunal Pandya also contributed with the bat. In fact, we believe that LSG has one of the strongest squads in IPL 2024. KL Rahul, Marcus Stoinis, and Devdutt Padikkal haven’t even made their mark in the IPL yet. They are all players who enjoy playing at the Chinnaswamy Stadium and will have very fond memories. Considering the weak RCB bowling attack in front of them, we could see the LSG batsmen really come into their own and score freely. Perhaps for the first time this season, the excitement in the crowd will be generated not by the star players, but by the unmatched fast bowler. Mayank Yadav clocked speeds of up to 155 km/h in the previous match and took three wickets, closing out the competition. He will also pose a real threat in this match, and his battle with the RCB batsmen is simply appetizing. LSG also needs Mayank Yadav to be a consistent force because the bowling performance around him has been somewhat inconsistent. Mohsin Khan, Manimaran Siddharth, and Naveen-ul-Haq are good bowlers, but none of them are going to overcome obstacles. Krunal Pandya and Ravi Bishnoi form an excellent spin pair, and we expect them to be used to target the RCB batsmen in this match.
