Venue: Eden Gardens, Kolkata
Time: 7:30 PM IST
Average score at venue (1st inns): 159
Win percentage while batting first: 45.45%
Pitch conditions:
- As witnessed in the Qualifier 1 of the Indian T20 cricket League 2022 tournament, the pitch at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata will be supportive for batsmen in both the innings and teams will look for big totals especially while batting first.
- The conditions and pitch nature has helped the teams batting second chase totals in excess of 190, which means that the coin toss may not have that much of impact or importance in this contest.
- Fast bowlers will continue to have a greater role to play since they have 67.23% of wickets coming their way while spin bowlers have got only 32.77%.
Weather prediction:
There are predictions of thunderstorms in the afternoon in Kolkata on Wednesday but the weather will clear up along with the skies for the Eliminator contest between Lucknow and Bangalore to be played here. The temperature will be around 30°C in the evening while humidity levels will be around 80%.
HEAD-TO-HEAD RECORD (overall):
Matches played: 1
Lucknow won: -
Bangalore won: 1
No result: -
Top 3 players from Lucknow: KL Rahul, Quinton de Kock, Deepak Hooda
Top 3 players from Bangalore: Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis, Harshal Patel
Top picks for H2H/WTA contest (top 5 players each):
Top 5 players from Lucknow: KL Rahul, Quinton de Kock, Deepak Hooda, Jason Holder, Mohsin Khan
Top 5 players from Bangalore: Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis, Harshal Patel, Josh Hazlewood, Wanindu Hasaranga
Q & A:
Fantasy tips and tricks: Should I pick more bowlers, batsmen or all-rounders?
The Qualifier 1 Contest played on Tuesday night at the Eden Gardens between Gujarat and Rajasthan was a run fest with both the teams scoring close to 190 runs in the two innings. The pitch had very little in terms of support for bowlers of all kinds while the batsmen made merry across the 40 overs of the contest. For the match to be played between Lucknow and Bangalore, in which the losing side will be eliminated from the tournament, it is important to have plenty of in-form batsmen along with bowlers who can be at their best given the occasion as well as the conditions.
Fantasy tips: From which team should I pick more players in my XI? Which team is stronger?
Lucknow have been a better side compared to Bangalore throughout the competition this year even though they lost the contest in the league round earlier. While Lucknow qualified for the play-offs on the basis of their own performances, Rajasthan Bangalore had to depend on results of other matches to make it to the final. Given the kind of cricket Lucknow have played in the recent times, especially in the last match wherein their openers KL Rahul and Quinton De Kock put on a 210-run unbeaten stand, Lucknow are the stronger side and should have more players featuring in the fantasy cricket playing XI.
MORE INFORMATION: It will be yet another do or die contest for Lucknow and Bangalore who will face off for the second time in the competition. In their previous meeting, Bangalore captain Faf du Plessis powered his side to an 18 run victory by scoring 96 runs from only 64 balls while Josh Hazlewood returned with a four wicket haul. However, the scene will be entirely different on Wednesday night with Lucknow looking to impose themselves on the opposition.
PLAYERS’ FORM: Bangalore will be pleased that their former captain Virat Kohli bounced back to form by scoring 73 against Gujarat which played a massive role in them reaching the play-offs. Bangalore will however expect more from their other players such as Faf du Plessis, Glenn Maxwell, Dinesh Karthik and Rajat Patidar with the bat. On the other hand, after their exploits in their previous match, Quinton de Kock and KL Rahul will be expected to fire on all cylinders in the big contest on Wednesday night.
Changes in squad (if any): NO
LIKELY XIs:
LUCKNOW: KL Rahul (c), Quinton De Kock (wk), Deepak Hooda, Krunal Pandya, Ayush Badoni, Marcus Stoinis, Jason Holder, Avesh Khan, Dushmantha Chameera, Mohsin Khan, Ravi Bishnoi
BANGALORE: Faf du Plessis (c), Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Glenn Maxwell, Mahipal Lomror, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Shahbaz Ahmed, Harshal Patel, Josh Hazlewood, Wanindu Hasaranga, Mohammed Siraj.
FANTASY XI: KL Rahul, Quinton de Kock (c), Virat Kohli, Deepak Hooda, Glenn Maxwell, Krunal Pandya, Marcus Stoinis, Josh Hazlewood, Wanindu Hasaranga, Mohsin Khan (vc), Avesh Khan.
Devarchit Varma is a cricket writer and journalist with an experience of more than a decade, having worked at Hindustan Times (newspaper) and CricketCountry (website). Along with covering international and domestic cricket, he has also interviewed several current and former top players such as Rohit Sharma, Steve Smith, Dale Steyn, Michael Hussey, Jacques Kallis, Brendon McCullum, Shane Watson, Lasith Malinga and many more. He has also worked in other beats as a journalist in Bollywood (Reliance BigOye) and IT (SiliconIndia) industries.
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