19 April,2022 08:05 AM IST | Navi Mumbai | SS Ramaswamy
Virat Kohli
Two top Indian batters line up against each other as IPL newcomers Lucknow Super Giants pit their might against Royal Challengers Bangalore at the DY Patil Stadium here on Tuesday.
Super Giants captain KL Rahul will be riding on the confidence generated by a brilliant, match-winning 60-ball 103 against five-time champions Mumbai Indians on Saturday, which boosted the team to the second spot on the points table. On the other hand, Virat Kohli, till last season the monarch of all he surveyed in Indian cricket, seeks to rediscover his golden touch with the bat after a modest run of scores for his team RCB which he led till the end of its 2021 campaign.
Ahead of IPL-15, Kohli had stepped down as India Test and T20 captain and was unceremoniously removed as 50-over captain too by the cricket board's bigwigs. He has had two notable knocks of 40-plus, was run out on two other occasions and has accumulated only 119 runs in six IPL games, well outside the top 20 leading scorers currently.
RCB will benefit immensely if he could become the Kohli of old and bat in his imperious style. Rahul's form with the bat has been a roller-coaster ride. It has fetched him 235 runs and placed him second behind Jos Buttler of Rajasthan Royals in the top run getters' list this season. But he has also been dismissed off the first ball twice. Apart from Rahul, wicket keeper Quinton de Kock (212 runs) has performed well with the bat for the Super Giants, while for RCB Dinesh Karthik is the highest scorer in his role as a finisher with 197 runs.
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Skipper and opener Faf du Plessis (154) and Shahbaz Ahmed (145 batting lower down) have also done their bit.
What has boosted RCB's chances is the availability of Glenn Maxwell, who showed how good he can be as a game changer with his knock of 55 in 34 balls in the last match against Delhi Capitals.
Both teams have well-rounded bowling attacks of pace and spin with RCB appearing to hold a slight edge. The rivals go into the match with identical runs of an initial loss, followed by three victories and another defeat capped by a win.
