On a roll after recording four consecutive victories, Royal Challengers Bengaluru will look to cement their stay in the top two positions when they take on a beleaguered Lucknow Super Giants at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow in a league match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) on Friday.

After a promising start to the 18th season, Rishabh Pant’s side has failed to cash in on the initial momentum with a string of losses in their last few matches. Having won four of their first six matches, LSG’s performances dipped in the second half with four losses in their last five matches and are currently at the 7th position with 10 points in their kitty. A loss to RCB will close their doors of qualifying for the playoffs.

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One of the primary reasons for LSG’s disappointing show has been their inability to win matches at home. Out of the five matches played in Lucknow this season, the home side has managed to win only two.

On the other hand, Royal Challengers Bengaluru have had an impressive run in IPL 18, winning eight of their 11 matches so far to sit at the second position with 16 points. It has been a collective effort from the whole group, with veteran Virat Kohli leading the batting chart.

While RCB had initially struggled to win at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, they have been dominant away from home, which gives the visitors an edge in Friday’s contest.

However, if LSG has to keep their slim hopes of reaching the playoffs alive, Pant will have to figure out a way to get the rust off his bat. The pressure is mounting on the wicketkeeper-batter with every passing game, with his lack of runs coinciding with the team’s slide in the business end of the tournament. LSG have lost four of their last five games and can only reach 16 points if they win their remaining three games.

Pant, who became the highest-paid player at the IPL auction, has had a season to forget thus far. He has tried batting at different positions but consistency has eluded him. His strike rate of 99.92 sums up his struggles this season.

LSG have relied heavily on their top three, including Mitchell Marsh, Aiden Markram and Nicholas Pooran, but that will to have change if they are to go deep in the tournament.

“The dream is still alive. If we are going to win the next three matches, we definitely can turn it around. It makes sense when your top order is batting really well. Every match you can’t hope they will come off nicely,” said Pant following the loss to Punjab Kings in Dharamsala.

In the bowling department, LSG has struggled to find the perfect combination. Shardul Thakur, who came in as a replacement for Mayank Yadav was impressive in the first half of the season. However, ever since the injury-prone pace sensation Yadav joined, it hasn’t worked for them. Yadav has proved expensive since his comeback and the team has a lot to work on their fielding and catching.

On the other hand, RCB, chasing the elusive title, will be desperate to end the drought. For that, much will depend on the shoulders of Kohli, who has been in red-hot form having collected seven fifties in 11 innings.

Kohli will once again be expected to set the tone for the likes of Rajat Patidar and more recently Romario Shepherd flex their muscle in the death overs. Mayank Agarwal has joined the squad as a replacement for injured Devdutt Padikkal, who had reinvented himself this season.

The spin duo of Krunal Pandya and Suyash Sharma has been very effective while Josh Hazlewood and Yash Dayal have bowled the difficult overs with ease in the pace department.

Squads:

Lucknow Super Giants: Nicholas Pooran, Ravi Bishnoi, Mayank Yadav, Ayush Badoni, Rishabh Pant (c & wk), David Miller, Aiden Markram, Mitchell Marsh, Avesh Khan, Abdul Samad, Aryan Juyal, Akash Deep, Himmat Singh, Manimaran Siddharth, Digvesh Singh, Shahbaz Ahmed, Akash Singh, Shamar Joseph, Prince Yadav, Yuvraj Chaudhary, RS Hangargekar, Arshin Kulkarni, Matthew Breetzke, Mohsin Khan.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar ©, Swastik Chikara, Mayank Agarwal, Jitesh Sharma, Philip Salt, Manoj Bhandage, Tim David, Krunal Pandya, Liam Livingstone, Romario Shepherd, Jacob Bethell, Swapnil Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood, Nuwan Thushara, Lungi Ngidi, Yash Dayal, Rasikh Dar Salam, Suyash Sharma, Mohit Rathee, Abhinandan Singh.