LSG vs RCB Highlights, IPL 2023: Kohli, Gambhir snap at each other after Bangalore beat Lucknow by 18 runs

Meanwhile, it will be interesting to see if LSG field Marcus Stoinis, who was forced to leave the field midway after injuring his finger while attempting a caught-and-bowled in the previous match against Punjab Kings.  

As per a report in ESPNcricinfo, the Aussie all-rounder underwent a scan on his index finger and things don't look serious.

While RCB will miss out on the services of David Willey, they will receive a huge boost as Josh Hazlewood is available for selection and he could be seen playing his first match of IPL 2023. 

As per reports, Hazlewood has successfully completed his rehab for an Achilles injury under the supervision of RCB and Cricket Australia.

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) have roped in Kedhar Jadhav as the replacement of David Willey for the remainder of the IPL 2023, the franchise announced earlier today.

The franchise provided no information about Willey's exit from IPL in its press statement. But he did pick up a toe injury from an Andre Russell yorker while batting towards the end of RCB's innings against Kolkata Knight Riders in the previous fixture.

The slow nature of the pitch has troubled Lucknow at home and they failed to chase down a paltry 136-run target against Gujarat Titans as they could only manage 128/7 in 20 overs.

KL Rahul too has been among the runs but the big concern has been is his strike-rate. Rahul has accumulated 274 runs from eight matches but it has come at a below par strike-rate of 114.64.  

Kyle Mayers: 297 runs, 8 matches, 160.54 strike-rate

Nicholas Pooran: 216 runs, 8 matches, 194.59 strike-rate

Marcus Stoinis: 216 runs, 8 matches, 155.39 strike-rate

LSG have been enjoying a dominant run in the tournament so far. The team are placed second and will climb to top if they manage to beat RCB tonight.

LSG had piled 257/5 in their previous encounter against Punjab Kings with top-order Kyle Mayers, Marcus Stoinis and Nicholas Pooran firing their shots all around the park.

Kyle Mayers is the leading scorer from LSG camp and is striking the ball at 160.54. 

Mohammad Siraj is doing a great job with the new ball and has been one of RCB's lethal weapons in the season. Siraj has claimed 14 wickets from eight matches.

However, he hasn't found great support from his teammates. Harshal Patel, who is next in the list of highest wicket-takers in RCB after Siraj, has scalped 10 wickets but has leaked runs at almost 10 runs per over.

Even Wanindu Hasaranga has failed to put brakes on the run flow. The Lankan spinner has picked six wickets in five matches but he has leaked runs at an economy on 9.00.  

As per the weather forecast, rain is likely to affect the contest. Even if it doesn't rain, the conditions are likely to remain overcast. 

The temperature is expected to hover around 26 degree Celsius. 

The last time the two sides met RCB went to pile a staggering 212/2 in 20 overs, with Kohli, Du Plessis, and Maxwell smashing half centuries each.

RCB were well on course towards a win having reduced LSG to 105/5 in 11.1 overs but what followed next was absolute carnage by Nicholas Pooran. The wicketkeeper-batter smoked seven 6s and four boundaries, before getting out for a 19-ball 62. 

Despite his blistering effort the match went into the final over and drama continued until the final ball. 

With one required in the final delivery and LSG batting at 212/9, Harshal missed out an opportunity to run-out Ravi Bishnoi at the non-striker's end. He then successfully managed to beat Avesh Khan, but a fumble by Dinesh Karthik, allowed the batters to complete a single as LSG win the contest by one wicket.

The top-order has been RCB's strength in this season, with Faf du Plessis leading the charts. He is followed by Virat Kohli, and then Glenn Maxwell. Faf has scored 422, Kohli is at 333, and Maxwell has accumulated 258 in the season. 

Dinesh Karthik is at number four and the wicketkeeper-batter has just managed 83 from the same number of outings. 

The Royal Challengers Bangalore unit will have to find ways to deliver and not over rely on their Top 3 –  Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis and Glenn Maxwell. 

The remaining batters have failed to capitalise on the solid starts provided by the names mentioned above. 

Siraj has been in good form in IPL 2023, and has the second-most powerplay wickets among pacers this season. But Rahul has been in good form vs Sraj, with a strike rate of 181, the second-highest against those who have bowled at least 40 T20 deliveries to him.

Both sides have faced each other in three IPL matches, with RCB leading 2-1 vs LSG in head-to-head.

LSG: KL Rahul(c), Kyle Mayers, Deepak Hooda, Marcus Stoinis, Krunal Pandya, Nicholas Pooran(w), Ayush Badoni, Naveen-ul-Haq, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, Yash Thakur, Amit Mishra, Jaydev Unadkat, Manan Vohra, Mark Wood, Quinton de Kock, Krishnappa Gowtham, Swapnil Singh, Prerak Mankad, Daniel Sams, Romario Shepherd, Arpit Guleria, Yudhvir Singh Charak, Karan Sharma

RCB: Virat Kohli(c), Shahbaz Ahmed, Glenn Maxwell, Mahipal Lomror, Dinesh Karthik(w), Suyash Prabhudessai, Wanindu Hasaranga, David Willey, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Siraj, Faf du Plessis, Akash Deep, Karn Sharma, Finn Allen, Anuj Rawat, Michael Bracewell, Siddarth Kaul, Sonu Yadav, Manoj Bhandage, Wayne Parnell, Rajan Kumar, Avinash Singh, Himanshu Sharma

Hello and good afternoon everyone! Welcome to our live coverage of today's IPL 2023 match as LSG take on RCB in Lucknow. Stay tuned folks!