High Flying Lucknow up against Inconsistent Bangalore

Lucknow are set to host Bangalore in match number 15 of the ongoing edition of the Indian T20 League on Monday (April 10)  The hosts have won both of their encounters at home and are looking to build a fortress at Lucknow in the early stages of the tournament. However, they came up short in their only game outside of Lucknow. 

One can say their home domination is built on the back of their bowling prowess on the back of their bowling attack on those pitches, high pace on the red soil and slower bowlers led by a rejuvenated Krunal Panya on the black soil, their ability to secure a win in a T20 game by toppling the opposition batters still remains a question

On paper though, this side looks formidable and should do well despite the conditions. To conquer Bangalore at home, Rahul and co have to put on a clinical show on Monday. They will have to quickly adapt to the playing conditions and the batters should look to use the dimensions of their ground to their advantage. 

Bangalore on the other hand have blown hot and cold in their fixtures so far in the tournament, but return to a venue where they registered a resounding win against Mumbai in their opening game. The pitch then assisted the bowlers as well, with Mohammad Siraj getting some movement in the initial passage of play. The spinners proved handy during the middle overs with the likes of Karn Sharma coming to the party. 

The latter’s performance, taking four wickets in two games ought to be a positive sign for the side, but a problem that has persisted over the last few years is their death bowling. Their lacklustre bowling performance during the back end of an innings is a matter of huge concern. Siraj and Harshal Patel have struggled to contain the opposition batters and have conceded far too many runs. So far Bangalore bowlers have given away 117 runs in eight overs picking up only 3 wickets between overs 16 and 20. That has effectively nullified the good work done earlier in the innings by the bowlers, and will certainly be on top of their concerns early in the season. 

There other problems include the form of a couple of their batting linchpins in the middle order just as it would be for Lucknow who are lacking runs from the likes of Deepak Hooda and KL Rahul thus far.

Both sides will be raring for a win. Bangalore will face the additional pressure of net run rate following their massive loss. 

What to expect: The pitch is expected to be more of the same as the one that Bangalore played on in their opening fixture against Mumbai. A tinge of green was seen on the eve of the match, but there was enough extract for all kinds of bowlers with a bit of swing early on, while pace variations too remained effective later on. \

Head to Head: BLR 2-0 LUC

Teams: 

BLR: Wayne Parnell has joined the squad but BLR are likely to experiment with their playing XI. 

Tactics and Key Match Ups: Lucknow’s skipper and opening batter has a good match-up against Mohammad Siraj, scoring 91 runs in 48 balls against the speedster. Bangalore could counter this by introducing spin early. Karn Sharma has been in decent form lately and has the upper hand against Deepak Hooda, dismissing him twice in 10 balls. 

Probable Starting XI: Faf du Plessis, Virat Kohli, Anuj Rawat, Glenn Maxwell, Shahbaz Ahmed, Dinesh Karthik, Michael Bracewell, David Willey, Harshal Patel, Karn Sharma, Mohammad Siraj

LUN: Mark Wood is likely to be a part of this game. He missed the last home game and went through a fitness drill under the supervision of Morne Morkel on Sunday.  Avesh Khan too bowled in the nets and is expected to be available. 

Tactics and Key Match Ups: Amit Mishra vs Glenn Maxwell will be the battle to watch out for. The spin veteran has got the better of the Aussie allrounder on five occasions. But if Bangalore get a solid start, Mishra’s presence could be overlooked to an extent by the duo who positively match-up against them 

Probable Starting XI: KL Rahul, Kyle Mayers, Deepak Hooda, Marcus Stoinis/Quinton de Kock, Nicholas Pooran, Krunal Pandya, K Gowtham/Amit Mishra, Yash Thakur, Avesh Khan/Jaydev Unadkat, Mark Wood, Ravi Bishnoi