Rajat Patidar won the toss and called correctly as Royal Challengers Bengaluru opted to bowl first against Lucknow Super Giants at the Ekana Stadium.
RCB’s team news and batting plan
Royal Challengers Bengaluru kept their side unchanged for the contest. With Phil Salt unavailable, Jacob Bethell is set to continue opening the batting alongside Virat Kohli.
Salt has returned home for scans on an injured finger, though there remains a possibility of him rejoining the squad around the later stages of the tournament.
LSG forced reshuffle ahead of the match
Lucknow Super Giants made several adjustments because of injuries and niggles. Arshin Kulkarni comes in at the top of the order to replace Josh Inglis for his first match of the season.
There was also a change in the pace-spin balance: Mohsin Khan and Avesh Khan were left out, with Shahbaz Ahmed and Digvesh Rathi brought in—both operating as left-arm spin and legspin options respectively.
Reflecting on the nature of the surface, Rishabh Pant said the pitch was “180-190” in terms of what it could offer and that it looked “better [red-soil wicket] than most of the other games.”
Captains’ thoughts on pressure and the points race
With Royal Challengers Bengaluru starting the night positioned above the bottom after wins earlier in the week, Pant acknowledged the challenge of being at the foot of the points table.
He described the key as “clarity”, adding that while the group knows it is a top side, they have to manage repeated changes in the batting order. Pant stressed that stability is important, but adjustments are required at times.
RCB’s perspective for the standings is simple: a victory tonight would move them to the top of the table. For Lucknow, it is expected that simply winning may not be enough to lift them off the bottom.
Playing XIs and impact options
Lucknow Super Giants
- Mitch Marsh
- Arshin Kulkarni
- Nicholas Pooran
- Aiden Markram
- Rishabh Pant (captain & wicketkeeper)
- Akshat Raghuwanshi
- Himmat Singh
- Shahbaz Ahmed
- Digvesh Rathi
- Mohammed Shami
- Prince Yadav
- Mayank Yadav
- Mukul Chowdhary
- Abdul Samad
- M Siddharth
- Avesh Khan
Royal Challengers Bengaluru
- Virat Kohli
- Jacon Bethell
- Devdutt Padikkal
- Rajat Patidar (captain)
- Jitesh Sharma (wicketkeeper)
- Romario Shepherd
- Krunal Pandya
- Bhuvneshwar Kumar
- Josh Hazlewood
- Suyash Sharma
- Rasikh Dar
- Tim David
- Jordan Cox
- Mangesh Yadav
- Vicky Otswal
- Venkatesh Iyer
