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IPL 2023 Predictions: RCB vs LSG
Lucknow Super Giants and Royal Challengers Bangalore will face each other in the 43rd match of IPL 2023 today.
The match will be held at the Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow.
Lucknow Super Giants have won 5 of their 8 matches so far, and are placed third on the points table.
They have 10 points and a net run rate of +0.841.
On the other hand, RCB have won 4 of their 8 games so far, and are placed 5th on the points table.
They have 8 points with a net run rate of -0.139.
Faf du Plessis is the captain of RCB in IPL 2023 while KL Rahul is the skipper of LSG.
In their last match against Punjab Kings, LSG pulled off a run-fest, scoring 257-5, which is a record for 2nd highest total ever in IPL history.
The batting charge was led by Kyle Mayers (54), Marcus Stoinis (72), Ayush Badoni (43) and Nicholas Pooran (45).
Later, PBKS was bowled out for 201 as LSG completed a 56 run victory.
For PBKS, Atharva Taide (66) and Sikandar Raza (36) were among the runs while seamer Yash Thakur grabbed a 4-wicket haul for LSG.
RCB had a disappointing loss to Kolkata Knight Riders in their last match.
KKR piled up a gigantic 200-5 thanks to an attacking 56 by Jason Roy and a captain’s knock of 48 by Nitish Rana. Wanindu Hasaranga and Vijaykumar Vyshak bagged two scalps each for the Bangalore-based side
In response, RCB crawled to 179-8 in 20 overs with Virat Kohli scoring a half-century.
This is going to be their second face-off in the current season.
In their previous encounter, Lucknow grabbed a nervy one-wicket win over RCB, and the Bengaluru-side will be itching to have their revenge.
Pitch analysis
Ekana Stadium is an average-sized ground, the square boundaries measure approximately 64 meters, while the straighter ones measure 71 meters.
Historically, spin bowlers get a lot of purchase on this pitch and batting becomes tricky as the game progresses. As a result, it is likely that the team winning the toss will choose to bat first.
The team batting second has a great record here and have won 60% of the matches played here.
Head-to-Head Record
| Teams | Matches Won |
| Lucknow Super Giants | 1 win |
| Royal Challengers Bangalore | 2 wins |
Player news
RCB will be glad to have the services of Josh Hazlewood for the first time this season.
However, skipper Faf du Plessis may not play the Australian pacer on a track which has favoured the spinners so far this season.
Lucknow all-rounder Marcus Stoinis had a finger injury, but it’s not clear whether he has fully recovered.
Probable XIs:
Lucknow Super Giants:
KL Rahul (c), Kyle Mayers, Ayush Badoni, Deepak Hooda, Marcus Stoinis, Krunal Pandya, Nicholas Pooran (wk), Naveen-ul-Haq, Avesh Khan, Yash Thakur, Ravi Bishnoi
Royal Challengers Bangalore:
Virat Kohli (c), Faf du Plessis, Shahbaz Ahmed, Glenn Maxwell, Mahipal Lomror, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Suyash Prabhudessai, Wanindu Hasaranga, Josh Hazlewood, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Siraj
Key Player stats
| PLAYER | STATS (THIS TOURNAMENT) |
|---|---|
| Faf du Plessis | 422 Runs |
| Virat Kohli | 333 Runs |
| Kyle Mayers | 297 Runs |
| KL Rahul | 274 Runs |
| Glenn Maxwell | 258 Runs |
| Mohammed Siraj | 14 Wickets |
| Ravi Bishnoi | 10 Wickets |
| Harshal Patel | 10 Wickets |
| Krunal Pandya | 108 Runs & 6 Wickets |
Who will win
The trio of Kohli, Faf and Maxwell have scored nearly 65% of the runs scored by RCB.
However, they have struggled against quality spin bowling. The Ekana pitch will assist spinners and if the trio falls cheaply, RCB will be in trouble as the rest of their lineup looks wobbly.
LSG’s batters are in good nick and KL Rahul will be relishing the chance to bat at the Ekana stadium which is one of one of his favourite venues.
So we predict a win for LSG.