RCB vs LKN Dream11 prediction, IPL 2023: Fantasy Suggestions, Captain and Vice Captain, Impact Sub Options

RCB vs LKN Dream11 prediction: Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) will face off in match 15 of the Indian Super League season 16 at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Monday (7:30 PM IST). LSG will be looking for some consistency as their away form remains in question after losing to another southern outfit Chennai Super Kings last week.

The KL Rahul-led side, however, has won both their games so far and is among the play-off places already. Faf du Plessis' RCB, on the other hand, had a flying start to the season with a big win against Mumbai Indians but was brought down to earth by Kolkata Knight Riders' spinners, who exposed their middle-order fallacies.

RCB vs LKN injury update

RCB injury update Royal Challengers Bangalore have made a change in their squad as South African pacer Wayne Parnell has been roped in as a replacement for Englishman Reece Topley, who dislocated his shoulder in the first game against MI. Wanindu Hasaranga won't play the match too as he joins the squad on April 10.

Key players Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis remain to be the stars leading the franchise from the front. The duo has been in great form and their dismissals in the last game revealed RCB's middle-order weaknesses. A lot is relying on Glenn Maxwell in the middle but the Australian is yet to find form this season. This requires the likes of Michael Bracewell, Dinesh Karthik and Anuj Rawat to play a bigger role.

Among bowlers, pacer Harshal Patel is yet to show his wicket-taking form from the last two seasons and is yet to take wickets in the death overs. Mohammad Siraj was expected to lead the bowling line-up with the new ball but his T20 credentials, especially in Indian conditions, remain in question.

Their understudy Akash Deep started off well in the first game but was taken for runs by Shardul Thakur right after. With impact sub in play, David Willey and Parnell will be crucial as well with the former (2/16) also making an excellent debut in the last game.

Karn Sharma has made an IPL comeback as the leg spinner has been the strike bowler with four wickets in two games and has been economical at the same time. Bracewell and Maxwell are in supporting role as utility bowlers.

LKN injury update Lucknow Super Giants missed out on Avesh Khan and Mark Wood in the last game. Avesh got injured in the game before while Wood was down with flu. Meanwhile, the franchise is yet to name a replacement for pacer Mohsin Khan.

Key players Quinton de Kock had to wait for his first game of the season as LSG have identified Kyle Mayers as KL Rahul's opening partner for IPL 2023 after the West Indies opener slammed back-to-back half centuries. Mayers, however, could only score 13 in the last game. Rahul, at the same time, got some runs with a patient knock of 35 in a low-scoring chase.

Deepak Hooda and Marcus Stoinis, however, are struggling in the middle order with the Indian batter scoring just 26 runs in three games while the latter has managed just 43 runs. Romario Shepherd, on the other hand, marked his LSG debut with a first-ball duck. Their lack of form has made Krunal Pandya and Nicholas Pooran crucial. And both the left-handers have scored some runs as well.

Pandya was in fact the star in the last game as well with a spell of 3/18 while Amit Mishra took 2/23 on a Lucknow surface with plenty of help for the spinners. This took some pressure of Ravi Bishnoi, who led the spin attack in the first two games and has six wickets to his name in three games.

Among pacers, Mark Wood is expected to return to the line-up and will be crucial on a batting-friendly Chinnaswamy surface. The English pacer is the joint leader in the purple cap race with eight wickets in two games. There's no update on the gravity of Avesh's injury yet. In case the duo doesn't make it, the onus will fall on Jaydev Unadkat and Yash Thakur to deliver.

RCB vs LKN predicted playing 11 and impact-sub options

RCB playing 11 vs LKN Faf du Plessis (C), Dinesh Karthik (WK), Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell, Michael Bracewell, Shahbaz Ahmed, Harshal Patel, Akash Deep, David Willey, Karn Sharma, Mohammad Siraj

RCB Impact-sub options Wayne Parnell, Anuj Rawat, Mahipal Lomror, Finn Allen, Suyash Prabhudessai, Will Jacks, Siddharth Kaul

LKN playing 11 vs RCB KL Rahul (C), Nicholas Pooran (WK), Kyle Mayers, Deepak Hooda, Marcus Stoinis, Krunal Pandya, Ayush Badoni, Jaydev Unadkat, Ravi Bishnoi, Mark Wood, Yash Thakur

LKN Impact-sub options Quinton de Kock, Romario Shepherd, Amit Mishra, Naveen Ul-Haq, K Gowtham, Daniel Sams, Manan Vohra

RCB vs LKN pitch report

Known to be batting-friendly in the limited overs format thanks to the flat wickets and the small ground dimension, M Chinnasway Staium is a batter's paradise and a bowler's nightmare. Going by the record in T20s, the chasing team has had an advantage on the wickets. Notably, spinners often find some help from the pitch with leg spinners being more effective.

RCB vs LKN Dream11 prediction

RCB vs LKN Dream11 predicted lineup 1
Wicket-keeper: N Pooran
Batter: V Kohli, L Rahul, F du Plessis
All-rounder: G Maxwell, K Pandya, K Mayers
Bowler: M Wood, R Bishnoi, A Mishra, K Sharma

RCB vs LKN Dream11 predicted lineup 2
Wicket-keeper: N Pooran
Batter: V Kohli, L Rahul, F du Plessis, D Hooda
All-rounder: K Pandya, K Mayers, M Stoinis
Bowler: M Wood, R Bishnoi, K Sharma

Captain & vice captain options Virat Kohli and F du Plessis scored a lot of runs in their last innings here while K Mayers has been in hot form for LKN. Likes of R Bishnoi and K Sharma may play a crucial role with the ball as well.