Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) will be locking horns with the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCN) in the 31st match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 at the Dr DY Patil Sports Academy in Navi Mumbai. Both teams are coming off a victory in their previous game and have enjoyed their campaign so far in IPL 2022 with both having won 4 games in each in the tournament so far.
Lucknow had a terrific outing against Mumbai Indians (MI) in their previous encounter wherein they ticked most of the boxes as they won the match by 18 runs. They are currently at second place in the points table with eight points from six games. On the other hand, the addition of Dinesh Karthik has proved to be a blessing for the RCB and he has been producing innings of the highest caliber.
ALSO READ: Match 31 (LSG vs RCB) – Probable XI And Fantasy XI
Bangalore has been having a terrific bowling line-up with Glenn Maxwell giving them four overs on most days and this might well be the season for them to go all the way. In their last game against Delhi Capitals (DC), RCB registered a dominating win by 16 runs owing to a brilliant fifty from Karthik. They are currently at third place in the points table with eight points from six games as well.
On that note, We take a look at the player battles to watch out for when both sides clash for the first time in IPL 2022.
#1 KL Rahul vs Glenn Maxwell
It wasn’t a surprise when Glenn Maxwell came out to bowl in the powerplay against DC. RCB might continue with the same approach when KL Rahul walks out to open. Statistics show that he was dismissed by Maxwell twice in all of their encounters, but with the kind of form he’s in, Rahul will be expected to go hard at the bowler as well. As he scored a century in their last game against the Mumbai Indians (MI), the LSG skipper will be keen to negate the spin threat and later unleash those booming hits.
#2 Faf du Plessis vs Avesh Khan
It’s no secret that RCB skipper, Faf du Plessis loves the pace that comes onto the bat. With Avesh Khan bowling at a decent pacer, Faf will look to use it to his advantage. Faf du Plessis hasn’t been in the best of form since the season opener against Punjab that saw him playing a flamboyant knock of 57-ball-88. Avesh, on the other hand, has been amongst the wickets as he has already scalped 11 wickets from six matches.
#3 Dinesh Karthik vs Ravi Bishnoi
Dinesh Karthik has been RCB’s trump card and he has already won them a couple of matches in IPL 2022 he will be keen to keep the momentum. However, his weakness against leg-spin will be something Lucknow will look to exploit. This would mean holding back Ravi Bishnoi with an over or two when and if Karthik comes out to bat. He has been dismissed seven times in 14 T20 innings by leg-spinners and although Bishnoi hasn’t dismissed him yet, the contest will surely be on.
