IPL 2022 | Eliminator | LSG vs RCB | LSG’s secret weapon - Mohsin Khan

Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 is fast approaching its culmination. The second of the playoff games, i.e., the Eliminator, will be played at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata today on the 25th of May. The match will see Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) take the field against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).

The match is a one-off chance for both the teams, as a loss would mean elimination. However, RCB will be brimming with confidence after their win against the table-toppers, GT, in their last league stage match. On the other hand, LSG’s journey was rocky towards the end of the league stages. However, they will be carrying a positive frame of mind into the contest after a thrilling win over Kolkata in their last league match.

RCB boasts of “KGF” in their batting line-up, that is to say, Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell, and Faf du Plessis. While RCB will be hoping that their big three fires in the important contest, LSG will already have devised a plan for them. Throughout the tournament, LSG’s bowling has been boosted by the presence of the left-arm Indian pacer Mohsin Khan. He has been someone who has chipped in wickets at the beginning and the death of the innings and also has been economical with his spells.

Here we will try to find the effect Mohsin might have in the match. However, before moving into further analysis of Khan, we need to look at his overall performance in the tournament.

Mohsin Khan in IPL 2022:

Innings: 8 Balls: 174 Runs Conceded: 172 Wickets: 13 Economy: 5.93 Runs Per Wicket: 13.23 Balls Per Wicket:13.38

As we see from the stats, Mohsin has been very cost-effective as a bowler. He has conceded less than six runs an over while picking up a wicket in about every two overs. This has made him the strike bowler of the team. As the main batters for RCB are right-handers, let us look at Mohsin’s record against right-handed batters in the tournament.

Balls Bowled: 114 Runs Conceded: 100 Wickets: 9 Balls per Boundary: 7.6 Balls Per Wicket: 12.66 Runs Per Wicket: 11.11

So, his record against right-handed batters is visibly better than his overall record in the tournament. Now, to further understand how much impact he might have in the match, let us look at how the ‘KGF’ of RCB batting fares against left-arm pace bowlers.

‘KGF’ vs Left-Arm Pacers

Now, these records against left-arm pacers will not alone justify their strength or weakness unless we compare this with the other variety of pace-bowling, i.e., Right-arm pacers.

‘KGF’ vs Right-Arm Pacers

These records hold only for T20 matches. The two tables show that except for Faf du Plessis, the other two batters have a weaker record against left-arm pacers. The difference in the efficiency of handling the two types of bowling is most evident in the case of Virat Kohli. While right-arm pacers take about five overs to dismiss him once, left-arm pacers do it in less than four overs. Kohli’s strike rate and frequency of getting boundaries are way better against right-handers.

Maxwell scores quicker against left-arm pacers but also gets out more frequently to them than right-arm pacers. Only Faf plays the left-arm pacers among the trio better than the right-arm bowlers. So, to render the dangerous trio ineffective, Mohsin Khan can be a great weapon for KL Rahul in the match.