By Prakash Nair 
Lucknow, May 7: The coin landed RCB’s way. And Rajat Patidar did not hesitate for even a second.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru have won the toss at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium tonight and elected to bowl first against Lucknow Super Giants in Match 50 of IPL 2026. As expected, the defending champions want LSG to put a number on the board first and then they will come after it.
It was the obvious call, and Patidar said as much. “We’re gonna bowl first. It’s pretty obvious. I see a pretty good surface. So, we bowl first and take the advantage of the first innings and keep the pressure,” the RCB captain said at the toss. He noted the pitch carries no grass a stark contrast from the previous game at this venue and believes it will offer a good contest between bat and ball.
The one change RCB have made is significant. Josh Hazlewood returns to the XI, and notably, Virat Kohli has been named as an Impact Player substitute the same role he devastated LSG from in the first leg encounter at Bengaluru three weeks ago, when he scored 40 off 20 balls inside the powerplay and effectively ended the chase as a contest before it began.
That detail alone will make LSG’s dressing room uncomfortable. Kohli coming in as an Impact Player means RCB have the luxury of a specialist bowling XI to begin with, and then the option of unleashing arguably the most dangerous batsman in the tournament mid-chase. It is a luxury no other franchise can match right now.
Rishabh Pant, on his part, kept things measured. He confirmed LSG are unchanged and said it was a good wicket to bat on, adding: “In wickets like this, you can bat first or bowl first. Eventually, you’ve got to play better cricket.”
That last line carries the weight of an entire season. LSG have not played better cricket. Not consistently. Not when it matters. Six defeats in a row, bottom of the table, and now they must bat first on a surface that has held first-innings scores under 165 all season. The assignment could not be harder.
The confirmed playing XIs heading into tonight’s match are as follows.
Confirmed Playing XIs
Lucknow Super Giants: Mitchell Marsh, Josh Inglis, Nicholas Pooran, Rishabh Pant (captain, wicketkeeper), Aiden Markram, Akshat Raghuwanshi, Himmat Singh, Mohammed Shami, Mohsin Khan, Avesh Khan, Prince Yadav
Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Jacob Bethell, Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar (captain), Jitesh Sharma (wicketkeeper), Tim David, Krunal Pandya, Romario Shepherd, Venkatesh Iyer, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood, Suyash Sharma with Virat Kohli named as Impact Player
What the Toss Means
On this surface, batting first is the harder assignment. The Ekana pitch slows as the match progresses, spinners get grip in the second half, and the dew factor which arrives reliably in evening matches here tends to assist the chasing side in the back end of their innings. The average first-innings score at Ekana this season has been just 155, making free scoring extremely difficult on this two-paced, black-soil wicket.
For LSG, the immediate challenge is generating momentum in the powerplay. Their new opening combination of Mitchell Marsh and Josh Inglis gave them a flying start against Mumbai Indians 90 for 1 in the first six overs, their highest powerplay total ever. If they can replicate something close to that tonight, it sets up Nicholas Pooran and the middle order to push the total towards 170 or beyond. Anything below 155 on this surface and their night is effectively over before RCB even start.
RCB’s bowling lineup for the first innings looks formidable. Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been the leading wicket-taker in this IPL with 17 wickets at an average of 15.53. Josh Hazlewood returning adds the threat of genuine pace, awkward angles, and the kind of probing lines he demonstrated in the first leg when he had Pant retired hurt. Krunal Pandya and Suyash Sharma will likely take over in the middle overs and exploit whatever turn the surface offers.
The duo of Bhuvneshwar and Hazlewood notably dismantled Delhi Capitals for just 75 on April 27 a reminder of how lethal they can be when conditions assist early movement.
The Kohli Factor
The decision to hold Kohli back as an Impact Player is a calculated one. It means RCB bat with Bethell and Padikkal opening, preserving the option to bring Kohli in at a specific moment to either anchor a tricky chase or accelerate in the middle overs. Given what he did in the first leg entering as substitute and immediately taking the game away from LSG Pant’s bowlers will have that memory fresh in their minds throughout tonight’s first innings.
It is worth noting that RCB have never lost to LSG at the Ekana Stadium in IPL history. Tonight they bowl first, with their best bowlers healthy, their Impact Player being perhaps the greatest chaser in the format, and the statistical advantage of a ground that historically favours teams batting second.
For LSG, every single thing that could go against them has gone against them tonight starting with the toss.
Now they bat. And they need to make it count.
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- Prakash Nair
- Prakash Nair
- Prakash Nair
- Prakash Nair
