Royal Challengers Bengaluru will host Lucknow Super Giants at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on April 2, Tuesday, in a match in the IPL. While the home team have just had their unbeaten streak at home broken by Kolkata Knight Riders in their previous game, LSG beat Punjab Kings convincingly.
LSG will try to ensure that they do not lose out on taking the early movers' advantage in this game and that they are not left behind while trying to defend the total. Defending totals is extremely difficult at Chinnaswamy, as almost everyone who has played there knows. RCB, too, have been exposed in this regard.
Whichever team wins the toss will want to bowl first and look to chase those runs down in the second innings. They will try to use a lot of spin as the track at the Chinnaswamy has taken a turn and has been getting slow as the day progresses lately. RCB will have to consider their bowling changes and not play odd lineups.
Predicted Teams
RCB: Faf du Plessis (c), Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Glenn Maxwell, Cameron Green, Dinesh Karthik, Anuj Rawat (wk), Alzarri Joseph, Mayank Dagar, Mohammed Siraj, Yash Dayal.
LSG: Quinton de Kock (wk), KL Rahul, Devdutt Padikkal, Ayush Badoni, Nicholas Pooran (c), Marcus Stoinis, Krunal Pandya, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohsin Khan, Mayank Yadav, Manimaran Siddharth.
Key Players
Nicholas Pooran (LSG): Left-hander Nicholas Pooran has repeatedly shown why he is so dangerous in this format. Pooran has a lot of versatility and dangerously displays his wares whenever he gets the opportunity. He can hit the ball a long way.
Faf du Plessis (RCB): Skipper and opener Faf du Plessis knows that he has to get his team off to a good start to either set up a big total or chase it down. He and the India legend Virat Kohli have a big task and will want to ensure that there is nothing to complain about.
Match Prediction
LSG come into this game with a lot of momentum and appeared to be the downright favorites to win it. We expect them to do so quite comfortably in the end. RCB appear to have no boost of confidence at all. They do not look like a side capable of bouncing back.
Delhi Capitals vs Kolkata Knight Riders - 03.04.2024 Prediction
Delhi Capitals will host Kolkata Knight Riders at the YSR Rajasekhara Reddy Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, on Wednesday, April 3. DC is playing at this venue instead of their usual Feroz Shah Kotla, as the latter have not yet recovered from the wear and tear of the Women's Premier League.
KKR, who beat RCB in Bengaluru in their previous game, will bring a lot of confidence to this match as well. DC, too, beat Chennai Super Kings in their last game, which was played on Sunday. The hosts will feel they must make the most of this encounter and use the surface's spin-friendly nature.
KKR have many top-quality players in their lineup and will want to throw them into the middle in the heat of the battle. DC, however, knows that it cannot afford to take KKR lightly. Both these teams will be exceptionally well matched, with DC's head coach Ricky Ponting — a former KKR player — set on picking up all two points.
Predicted Teams
DC: Prithvi Shaw, David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Rishabh Pant (c & wk), Tristan Stubbs, Abishek Porel, Axar Patel, Anrich Nortje, Mukesh Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Khaleel Ahmed.
KKR: Philip Salt (wk), Venkatesh Iyer, Shreyas Iyer (c), Ramandeep Singh, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Mitchell Starc, Anukul Roy, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakaravarthy.
Key Players
Rishabh Pant (DC): Captain and wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant is one of the stars of the DC side and someone who needs to be looked at consistently. Pant can hit the ball a long way and shake the confidence of all the bowlers who decide to roll their arms against him.
Sunil Narine (KKR): Old warhorse Sunil Narine has shown great fortitude this season and remains one of the players to watch out for on the KKR side. He has been brilliant both with the bat and ball in hand. Narine has to come good for KKR to do well in Vizag.
Match Prediction
KKR have a massive advantage over their opponents in this game. With Vizag being a neutral venue, DC cannot claim the home team's advantage either. Whichever team puts on quality runs on the board can claim victory over the other. These are two vital points as well.