Defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru travel to the Ekana Stadium on Thursday to face Lucknow Super Giants in their IPL 2026 clash, with the tournament now entering its decisive phase.
RCB are on the verge of sealing qualification and will aim to finally secure that coveted ‘Q’ beside their name to officially book a playoff spot, while LSG have only pride left to play for.
The title-holders from Bengaluru have collected 12 points from 9 matches so far, with six wins and three losses, placing them second on the table behind Punjab Kings, who are one point ahead. In stark contrast, LSG sit at the very bottom of the standings with just 4 points from their 9 games this season.
Ayush Badoni
LSG’s batting order has been ultimately reliant on
the heavyweights they have up top in their ranks and the collective failure of the side with the bat has come down to the top-order woefully misfiring time and again. Their experimentation with the openers hasn’t helped either and Badoni, the usually consistent youngster, would look to take on the bowlers going forward at the top.
Mohsin Khan
LSG’s bowling unit has been their strength this season with pacers including Mohammed Shami, Prince Yadav, Mayank Yadav and Mohsin Khan have done most of the heavy lifting this campaign, and the young seamer’s contributions would be key for LSG to salvage some pride.
Rishabh Pant
The LSG skipper will look to lead the side from the front and help the side experience a turn of fortunes from the chaos they find themselves in. He’d be aware of positives of closing out season on a high despite missing out on playoff qualification yet again.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar
The veteran seamer has demonstrated some awe-inspiring seam bowling in the season, and his duet with Josh Hazlewood was crucial in their title win last year. The seam duo has helped the holders live up to their billing in their attempt to defend the crown.
Devdutt Padikkal
The southpaw has cemented his place in his hometown side following his return to the Karnataka Capital with his stupendous showings with the willow in the ongoign season. His role at no.3 has been instrumental in RCB’s batting order as it afford the dangerous Phil Salt and Virat Kohli the license to attack early on.
Virat Kohli
The veteran batter has been a steady figure in the side’s rise to dominance in recent years and Kohli would look to extend his touch as the season moved towards the business end of things with the Challengers bidding to hold on to the crown the got their hands on after 18-years of wait.
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