IPL 2026 | Match 23: RCB vs LSG | Preview and Predictions

The defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) host Lucknow Super Giants as the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 is slowly beginning to take shape. RCB are looking to move into the top two spots while LSG are struggling to find consistency.

Here is the preview and prediction for match 22 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 between the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and the Lucknow Super Giants.

Indian Premier League 2026 | Match 23: Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Lucknow Super Giants | 19:30 IST, April 15th

Royal Challengers Bengaluru come into this game after a shaky win over Mumbai Indians but have some questions raised about their bowling. The seamers have been leaking runs and RCB brought in Jacob Duffy for Josh Hazlewood and Duffy went at 14.5 runs per over in his four while Bhuvaneshwar Kumar went at nearly 10 in his spell. Romario Shepherd has been expensive whenever he’s come on this season and it’s been the spinners doing the job mainly for RCB. RCB need to find wickets early on and will hope Hazlewood and Kumar provide those.

The batting is slowly beginning to look perfect for RCB, especially with Phil Salt finding form and runs in the last game. Salt was the only one in their top six without a substantial score but he smashed his way back into some form while captain Rajat Patidar has been the star batter for RCB, in sublime form throughout the season so far. With the likes of Tim David and Shepherd coming in late in the lower order, RCB have depth and explosive firepower in the back end as well. Their star batter, Virat Kohli had a small injury scare in their previous game and RCB will hope that the former Indian skipper is back soon. 

LSG meanwhile are struggling with the bat and ball and had a disappointing showing last time around at home against the Gujarat Titans. The batting is yet to fire for LSG with the dangerous top four of Mitchell Marsh, Aiden Markram, Rishabh Pant and Nicholas Pooran all struggling for form. Given how much LSG depend on their experienced top four, Pant will hope for more from his top order especially given how thin and inexperienced the lower order is. Barring Mohammed Shami, the bowling hasn’t been too impressive either with the Indian seamers like Prince Yadav and Avesh Khan being expensive and conceding a lot of runs. Digvesh Rathi has been the only spinner who has looked threatening and Pant knows that he doesn’t have a very deep bowling lineup and will need his batters to bail out the team.

Bengaluru has been a batter’s paradise and given the ground dimensions as well, this is one ground where we should always expect high scores. Not only the current form but also their squad depth and balance makes the hosts Royal Challengers Bengaluru as the clear favourites in this encounter.

Fantasy XI: Mitchell Marsh, Virat Kohli (c), Aiden Markram, Devdutt Padikkal, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ayush Badoni, Tim David (vc), Krunal Pandya, Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood, Mohammad Shami

Venue: M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru

Winners Prediction: Royal Challengers Bengaluru