IPL 2022 Playoffs, LSG vs RCB: Player battles to watch out for

The celebrations in the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) camp on Saturday said it all when the Mumbai Indians (MI) blew the Delhi Capitals (DC) out of IPL 2022 playoff contention.

Their fate now rests in their own hands as Bangalore locks horns with a belligerent Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) side in the Eliminator at Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Wednesday (May 25).

What's worked in favor of the Super Giants is their all-rounders doing the job for them. They have been bailed out of tough spots every time their top 3 has faltered, and that shows the work that's gone behind in structuring a perfect roster.

Virat Kohli's animated knock against the Gujarat Titans (GT) in RCB's last league game comes as good news ahead of a challenge they will be keen to mount. Ahead of the all-important clash, we take a look at the player battles when these two sides meet.

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#1 RCB talisman Virat Kohli vs Mohsin Khan

While IPL 2022 has been patchy and below par at best for RCB's Virat Kohli, he stormed back to form with a 54-ball-73 against GT to help is side finish with 16 points.

However, consistency comes into the equation as RCB take on Lucknow, who have played some solid cricket so far in the edition.

Loading up against Kohli will be Mohsin Khan, one of the players who has had an impressive IPL 2022 with 13 wickets from eight games at an economy of 5.93.

Mohsin's left-arm pace will be a challenge as he gets the ball to swing into Kohli and rap him on the pads with that nippy speed. However, the batter, with 309 runs from 14 matches, will look to make the most of the form he's found.

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#2 KL Rahul vs Glenn Maxwell

The Aussie all-rounder has had the better of LSG skipper KL Rahul twice in all their IPL encounters. It shouldn't come as a surprise if Faf du Plessis hands the ball over to Glenn Maxwell to try his luck and stifle Rahul early on in his innings.

The Karnataka batter is second on the list of most-runs scored in IPL 2022 with 537 runs from 14 matches.

Another good day with the bat will see him breach the 600-run mark for the third time in a row, something Lucknow will be more than happy to take.

Click here for the latest IPL live score 2022 and news updates.

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#3 Krunal Pandya vs Dinesh Karthik

As far as the battles between finishers and spinners go, Krunal Pandya versus Dinesh Karthik will be a spicy contest, should the former be fit for the game on Wednesday.

Krunal missed out on the previous game due to a niggle, and should he have ironed it out, he will be Rahul's go-to man when Karthik walks out to bat.

The TN batter has been in red-hot form for RCB in IPL 2022, finishing games with a cool head and absolute disdain. He has been dismissed twice by Krunal in the IPL and only time will tell who will better whom at Eden Gardens.