Kolkata: The IPL 2022 Eliminator between Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) will be played at the iconic Eden Gardens here on Wednesday.
Both Lucknow and Bangalore qualified for the playoffs by playing some good cricket
Lucknow rode their luck in the final league game while Mumbai beat Delhi to clear the passage for Bangalore.
Lucknow Super Giants qualified for the playoffs with 18 points and was third on the points table. They won nine games and lost five on their way to the playoffs. KL Rahul and Quinton De Kock scored 500-plus runs so far.
Among the bowlers, Avesh Khan is the leading wicket-taker for the side with 17 wickets. They will need all these three key players to fire if they want to play the final on May 29 in their debut season.
RCB, on the other hand, needs to get their game right. Though RCB beat LSG earlier in the season, heading into this game, they look the more potent of the two sides.
"We needed another team. Now it's all on us," Glenn Maxwell said as Royal Challengers Bangalore celebrated making it to the playoffs. It is a sentiment that would have really resonated with his team-mates.
Everybody appreciates a second chance but players of the quality of Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis and Josh Hazlewood tend to know exactly what to do to make the most of it. Kohli, in particular, will be thrilled that he has something tangible to play for especially now that he's finally hit form.
By building a team of allrounders, Lucknow Super Giants have been able to find a way out of a lot of tough spots, but the one thing they haven't been able to shake is an 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 carried a line-up where the others have collectively contributed only 789 runs at 17.2.
A weakness that glaring would have pulled a lot of teams out of playoff contention, but Super Giants are here because their bowling has been exceptional. They took 96 wickets in the league stage at an average of 23.8 and strike rate of 17.1. They're No. 1 in each of those metrics.
Bangalore has had an up and down season which they need to set right if they want to play the final on May 29.
Krunal Pandya missed Super Giants' last league game with a niggle. He's had almost a week's worth of recovery time. If it isn't a serious injury, he should be back in the playing XI.
Harshal Patel does have a serious problem. He split the webbing on his bowling hand and those take time to heal. If he doesn't make it, Akash Deep could take his place. (UNI)
