Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) have won the toss and chose to bat first against the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) at the Ekana Cricket Stadium on Monday, May 1.
RCB made two notable changes to their playing XI. Ace fast bowler Josh Hazlewood has fully recovered and is part of the starting XI for the first time in IPL 2023. Shahbaz Ahmed, who has been struggling for form, meanwhile has been left out to accommodate Anuj Rawat.
LSG also made one change, bringing in off-spinner Krishnappa Gowtham in place of Avesh Khan.
Here is the list of substitute players for the match:
Lucknow Super Giants: Ayush Badoni, Daniel Sams, Avesh Khan, Quinton De Kock, and Prerak Mankad.
Royal Challengers Bangalore: Harshal Patel, Shahbaz Ahmed, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Michael Bracewell, and Sonu Yadav.
LSG were the first team to use the impact player rule, with Ayush Badoni replacing Yash Thakur.
Meanwhile, Harshal Patel replaced Anuj Rawat for RCB.
Speaking at the toss, RCB skipper Faf du Plessis predicted that there would be some extra bit of turn in the second innings, prompting him to bat first.
"We are gonna have a bat. There will be little more turn in the second innings I feel. I feel much better now. We got Hazlewood in tonight, and Anuj comes in for Shahbaz. Our squad is well-suited for these conditions. It is just about batting well tonight," du Plessis said.
LSG captain KL Rahul feels both teams will have to work hard to score runs on this wicket, which has assisted spinners more than pacers.
"It is just going to be hard work on this pitch for both teams," Rahul said. "Just one change. Avesh Khan misses out and K Gowtham comes in. Having played here twice, we know that spin will be used more than pace here. Just want to hold our composure during crunch moments.
"The only thing we spoke about is to not come with a fixed mindset and we gotta bowl well and restrict them to a low total."
LSG vs RCB Playing XIs
Royal Challengers Bangalore: Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis (c), Anuj Rawat, Glenn Maxwell, Mahipal Lomror, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Suyash Prabhudessai, Wanindu Hasaranga, Karn Sharma, Mohammed Siraj, and Josh Hazlewood.
Lucknow Super Giants: KL Rahul (c), Kyle Mayers, Deepak Hooda, Marcus Stoinis, Krunal Pandya, Nicholas Pooran (wk), Krishnappa Gowtham, Ravi Bishnoi, Naveen-ul-Haq, Amit Mishra, and Yash Thakur.
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