Match: Team Lucknow vs Team Bangalore, (BLR vs LKN, Match 15)

Date: April 10, 2023 – 7:30 PM IST

Venue: M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru 

April 10 brings you a clash between Team Lucknow and Team Bangalore in the Indian T20 League 2023. The match no. 15 of the tournament will take place at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Monday, April 10.

Team Lucknow have played three matches in this season, winning two and losing one. They obliterated Delhi by 50 runs in the first game before losing to Chennai by 12 runs. In the most recent fixture, they defeated Team Hyderabad by five wickets. 

It was a difficult surface on offer and Lucknow bowlers made the most of it. Krunal Pandya was the chief tormentor, picking 3 for 18 in his four overs. Amit Mishra and Ravi Bishnoi combined for 3/39 off eight overs as they restricted Hyderabad to just 121/8. KL Rahul scored 35 off 31 at the top but Krunal was the star with the bat as well, smashing 34 off 23 to put his team in winning position. 

Team Bangalore started the season with a dominant eight-wicket victory over Mumbai at their home venue. They were then hammered by 81 runs when they traveled to Kolkata. 

David Willey and Karn Sharma bagged two scalps each to reduce Kolkata to 89/5. But then Bangalore bowlers were shell shocked by Shardul Thakur’s blistering knock and Rinku Singh. Chasing the target, Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis smashed 42 runs in four overs. But the Bangalore batting unit succumbed to the spin trio of Varun Chakravarthy, Sunil Narine and Suyash Sharma. 

Pitch Report and Weather Forecast for BLR vs LKN, Match 15

M Chinnaswamy stadium is a nightmare of a venue for bowlers due to its flat pitches and short boundaries. The average batting first score at this venue in the Indian T20 League since 2017 stands at 163. The first game of the season here saw 172 being chased down in 16.2 overs. 

The weather in Bengaluru is expected to be clear on Monday evening. The temperature should hover around 20-25°C during the match-time.

Team Bangalore – Expected XI and Team News 

Wanindu Hasaranga will arrive in India on April 10th and that could mean he may not feature in the playing XI straightaway. Team Bangalore have signed Wayne Parnell as a replacement for Reece Topley but David Willey was superb in the previous game and should keep his spot. Karn Sharma has also done an excellent job as a leg-spin option. 

Probable XI – Faf du Plessis (c), Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell, Shahbaz Ahmed, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Michael Bracewell, Harshal Patel, David Willey, Karn Sharma, Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj

Team Lucknow – Expected XI and Team News 

Team Lucknow made a tough decision in the previous game, leaving out Quinton de Kock for the in-form Kyle Mayers. They had made two forced changes last game, with Mark Wood and Avesh Khan nursing minor health or injury concerns. The duo could be back for this fixture. Amit Mishra, who did well in the last game, might not feature in this one due to the nature of the venue. 

Probable XI – KL Rahul (c), Kyle Mayers, Deepak Hooda, Krunal Pandya, Marcus Stoinis, Nicholas Pooran (wk), Ayush Badoni, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, Mark Wood, Yash Thakur

Head to Head record of BLR vs LKN 

Total Encounters – 2

Team Lucknow won – 0

Team Bangalore won – 2

Best Captaincy Picks for the BLR vs LKN match

KL Rahul: Wicket-keeper Batter, Team Lucknow  

KL Rahul has scored only 63 runs in three innings so far in the season but he remains a top captaincy candidate. He has scored over 2200 runs from 72 innings in the Indian T20 League since 2018, averaging 56 and striking at 137. Rahul has a magnificent record against Bangalore, smashing 600 runs at 76 average and 147 strike rate, including a century and three half centuries.

Virat Kohli: Batter, Team Bangalore 

Virat Kohli kicked off the season with an unbeaten 82 in 49 balls. The Indian maestro has been in terrific form over the last eight months. Kohli is the highest run-scorer in the league, having amassed over 6700 runs at an average of 37 with five hundreds and 45 fifties. He is a good C/VC option at this venue. 

Faf du Plessis: Batter, Team Bangalore  

The South African batter has been in incredible form for the last few months. He started the season with a blistering 73 off 43 balls against Mumbai and smashed 12-ball 23 in the second game. Du Plessis has scored over 1600 runs in the league since 2020, averaging 39 with 14 half centuries. He can be a great C/VC option here. 

Top Differential Picks 

Karn Sharma: Bowler, Team Bangalore  

Karn Sharma has been pretty good for Bangalore in the ongoing season. He has taken four wickets in two games at an economy of 7.2. He’s picked by 38% of the fantasy players and could be a good differential.

Deepak Hooda: Batter, Team Bangalore 

Deepak Hooda hasn’t had a good start to the season but has all the ability to turn things around. He had scored over 400 runs in the previous edition and did well in international T20s as well. Picked by 32% of the MPL teams, Hooda can be a good differential.

MPL Fantasy XI

Where and what time to watch the match live in India 

Star Sports Network has acquired the television rights of the Indian T20 League 2023 while Viacom 18 have bagged the digital rights. You can watch the matches on Star Sports channels or stream online on Jio Cinema. 

Note: The players recommended here need not be a part of the Playing 11 on game day. Users are advised to do their own research also and follow official sources and create their teams.