Lucknow: In pursuit of a top-two finish, Royal Challengers Bengaluru will tread with caution in their final league clash against the erratic Lucknow Super Giants here on Tuesday as the hosts will be desperate to sign off on a positive note after a largely
forgettable campaign.
Gujarat Titans’ back-to-back defeats have created a golden opportunity for third-placed RCB to secure a top-two finish for the first time since 2016. The top two teams play the Qualifier 1 from which the winner enters the final and the losing side advances to the Qualifier 2 to take on the winner of the Eliminator, played between the third and fourth-place finishers.
The margin for error for RCB, who have 17 points, is rather slim. A win is imperative as either Mumbai Indians (16 points) or Punjab Kings (17 points) are set to overtake GT (18 points) after their clash this evening. RCB were in red-hot form before the league’s 10-day pause due to the India-Pakistan military conflict, winning four matches on the trot. But the break appears to have disrupted their momentum.
Since the restart, Bengaluru have seen a game washed out by rain and then suffered a 42-run defeat to Sunrisers Hyderabad. Their last victory came on May 3, and rustiness was evident against SRH. “We were rusty. The intensity wasn’t there initially... In the death (overs), we were bowling more accurately,” stand-in captain Jitesh Sharma admitted after that loss. The return of Australian pacer Josh Hazlewood has lifted spirits in the RCB camp. Hazlewood has been the team’s standout performer this season, with 18 wickets in 10 matches, and currently ranks fourth among the leading wicket-takers.