RCB’s last attempt for top two finish, LSG aim to end on a high

In pursuit of a top-two finish, Royal Challengers Bengaluru will tread with caution in their final league clash against the erratic Lucknow Super Giants here on Tuesday as the hosts will be desperate to sign off on a positive note after a largely forgettable campaign.

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Gujarat Titans’ back-to-back defeats have created a golden opportunity for third-placed RCB to secure a top-two finish for the first time since 2016. The top two teams play the Qualifier 1 from which the winner enters the final and the losing side advances to Qualifier 2 to take on the winner of the eliminator, played between the third and fourth-place finishers.

The margin for error for RCB, who have 17 points, is rather slim. A win is imperative as either Mumbai Indians (16 points) or Punjab Kings (17 points) are set to overtake GT (18 points) after their clash this evening.

RCB were in red-hot form before the league’s 10-day pause due to the India-Pakistan military conflict, winning four matches on the trot. But the break appears to have disrupted their momentum.

Since the restart, Bengaluru have seen a game washed out by rain and then suffered a 42-run defeat to Sunrisers Hyderabad. Their last victory came on May 3, and rustiness was evident against SRH.

“We were rusty. The intensity wasn’t there initially... In the death (overs), we were bowling more accurately,” stand-in captain Jitesh Sharma admitted after that loss.

The return of Australian pacer Josh Hazlewood has lifted spirits in the RCB camp. Hazlewood has been the team’s standout performer this season, with 18 wickets in 10 matches, and currently ranks fourth among the tournament’s leading wicket-takers.

RCB will also be familiar with conditions, having played their last match at the Ekana Stadium.

However, overcoming Lucknow Super Giants won’t be easy. The hosts come in high on confidence after dismantling Gujarat Titans in their last outing.

Their overseas trio of Aiden Markram, Mitchell Marsh, and Nicholas Pooran, who has been the franchise’s biggest positive this season, tore through GT’s bowling to pile 235/2.

The bowling unit also impressed, showing glimpses of what their campaign could have been without a string of injuries.

The addition of Will O’Rourke, signed as a replacement for the injured Mayank Yadav, has been a positive move. Spinner Digvesh Rathi, who has been LSG’s find of the season, will also return for the clash after serving his one-match suspension for animated send-offs.

Yet inconsistency has plagued their season, something skipper Rishabh Pant acknowledged.

“We talk about playing good cricket, and we’ve shown on occasion that we can do that. There were times in the tournament where we had our chances but didn’t take them — it’s part and parcel of the game,” Pant said last week.

Teams (from):

Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Phil Salt, Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar ©, Mayank Agarwal, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Tim David, Krunal Pandya, Romario Shepherd, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Suyash Sharma, Josh Hazlewood, Yash Dayal, Rasikh Dar Salam, Manoj Bhandage, Jacob Bethell, Swapnil Singh, Liam Livingstone, Nuwan Thushara, Lungi Ngidi, Mohit Rathee, Swastik Chikara, Abhinandan Singh.

Lucknow Super Giants: Rishabh Pant (wk/captain), Aiden Markram, Mitchell Marsh, Nicholas Pooran, Ayush Badoni, Abdul Samad, David Miller, Shardul Thakur, Avesh Khan, Akash Deep, Digvesh Rathi, Ravi Bishnoi, Prince Yadav, Shahbaz Ahmed, Matthew Breetzke, Himmat Singh, Shamar Joseph, Manimaran Siddharth, Aryan Juyal, RS Hangargekar, Yuvraj Chaudhary, Akash Maharaj Singh, Arshin Kulkarni.

Match starts at 7:30pm IST.