(Cricket news) Can RCB fans dream of “Ee Sala Cup Namde” or will it be the familiar story of choking at the big stage? While watching the DC vs MI, RCB players had a range of emotions – going by their social media. Eventually, DC lost and the RCB's camp went into ecstasy as they had entered the playoffs. Virat Kohli was one of those players who led the celebrations and it showed how much it meant to him. On the other hand, LSG have been the most consistent side in the tournament but a few shaky performances at the end meant that they finished 3rd in the standings and have to face a spirited RCB side in the Eliminator.
RCB are going to bank on a rejuvenated Kohli and hopefully finds his mojo in the Eliminator against LSG. RCB also seem to have found enough horsepower in the batting lineup as Faf du Plessis stitched a 115 with Kohli versus GT which was also the franchise's highest partnership this season. Rajat Patidar has made some decent contributions at No.3 but the gamble of sending Glen Maxwell at three last match played as the RCB management need to assess the situation before they can send him up the order. Dinesh Karthik will be the key in this high pressure match as he will be given the finishers role. RCB have bowlers have just bagged 16 wickets in the PowerPlay, with seamers taking only 12 wickets in that period as it is the lowest by any franchise this season. Josh Hazlewood will hold the key against Quinton De Kock as he has dismissed him thrice in the IPL.
LSG have been able to win tight matches but the one thing they haven't been able to figure out is the extreme reliance on their top order. KL Rahul (537 runs at 48.8), Quinton de Kock (502 runs at 38.6), and Deepak Hooda (406 runs at 31.2) have scored the majority of the runs but the other batters have collectively contributed only 789 runs at 17.2. If their middle order is not performing then the fast bowlers are compensating for it, they have taken 96 wickets in the league stage at an average of 23.8 and strike rate of 17.1 which is highest this season. Mohsin Khan, who bowls with a high-arm action and has been the key man for LSG this season as he has the added advantage of a left-arm angle. Avesh Khan who has been the leader of the pack is back to his best after a dip in his form also. Krunal Pandya had some success against DK dismissing him twice and conceding just 24 runs off 28 balls.
Pitch and weather report: The pitch at the Eden Gardens was a wonderful batting wicket and the same can be expected from this match. The weather is very unpredictable as basically the Kalbaisakhi season in Bengal has started and a few thunderstorms are expected but mostly we can expect a game today.
Interesting facts:
- LSG have lost 23 wickets in the Powerplay in the IPL
- SuperGiants are yet to win a single match against the teams that have qualified for the playoffs in this year
- DK has the best death-overs strike rate (226.37) in the IPL (min 50 balls faced).
- Virat Kohli needs one more catch to reach 150 catches in T20 cricket
- RCB have lost the Eliminator in the last two IPL seasons
- Quinton de Kock needs to hit three sixes to reach 300 sixes
- Mohsin Khan needs to take four wickets to reach 50 wickets in T20 cricket.
Also read: Remember the Titans: Killer Miller, Captain Pandya take Gujarat franchise to IPL final
Probable XI for RCB:
1 Faf du Plessis (capt), 2 Virat Kohli, 3 Rajat Patidar, 4 Glenn Maxwell, 5 Mahipal Lomror, 6 Dinesh Karthik (wk), 7 Shahbaz Ahmed, 8 Wanindu Hasaranga, 9 Harshal Patel/Akash Deep, 10 Josh Hazlewood, 11 Mohammed Siraj
Probable XI for LSG:
1 Quinton de Kock (wk), 2 KL Rahul (capt), 3 Deepak Hooda, 4 Krunal Pandya, 5 Ayush Badoni, 6 Marcus Stoinis, 7 Jason Holder, 8 Avesh Khan, 9 Dushmantha Chameera, 10 Mohsin Khan, 11 Ravi Bishnoi
