Kohli vs Gambhir: Will LSG meet 'familiar foe' RCB again in IPL 2023?

Virat Kohli, Gautam Gambhir (Pic: AFP)

After 63 games over the past 50 days, Gujarat Titans are seated atop the table with Chennai Super Kings and Lucknow Super Giants trailing them at second and third respectively with 15 points each. Defending champions Gujarat became the first team to seal a place in the play-offs of the ongoing edition with a convincing 34-run win over Sunrisers Hyderabad on Monday.

While Mumbai Indians are ahead in the race with 14 points, the battle for the fourth spot continues to intensify with as many as four teams sharing 12 points, i.e., Royal Challengers Bangalore, Rajasthan Royals, Kolkata Knight Riders, and Punjab Kings. Sunrisers Hyderabad and Delhi Capitals meanwhile, have been eliminated.

Bangalore beat Lucknow in a low-scoring game on May 2, but what made more news than RCB's win is the altercation between Virat Kohli and LSG mentor Gautam Gambhir. The incident took place while the players were shaking hands at the completion of the match when some words were seemingly exchanged between Lucknow bowler Naveen-ul-Haq and Kohli. At this point, Gambhir stepped in to intervene and charge at a seemingly frustrated Kohli.

Also Read: IPL Playoffs: What does LSG's win over MI mean for CSK, RCB, RR, KKR, and PBKS?

The controversy has not died down completely as speculations are rife about a possible matchup between the two sides once more. As both teams continue to remain in contention for playoffs, chances are high that Gambhir's LSG and Kohli's RCB could face each other again this season. In order for that to happen, the two teams are required to finish the league stage in the last four.

• LSG must beat KKR and clinch 17 points. CSK must defeat bottom-placed Delhi to finish their campaign with 17 points. But CSK must beat LSG to remain second on the basis of a better Net Run Rate.
• RCB must win their remaining two matches against SRH and GT to bag 16 points and finish fourth overall.
• LSG beat KKR by a massive margin to bag 17 points to finish second, provided that CSK lose their final game or if they have an inferior NRR to LSG despite bagging 17 points. LSG will then lose Qualifier 1 against Gujarat to play Qualifier 2.
• RCB must beat SRH and GT to finish on 16 points. The franchise will then win the Eliminator against CSK to face LSG in Qualifier 2.
• RCB, if finish third or fourth, must win in both Eliminator and Qualifier 2 to set up the final clash with LSG.
• LSG must lose their final league match against KKR to remain on 15 points.
• RCB finish with 16 points to go third or win only one of their remaining two games to end the season on 14 points. If Bangalore finish in the top 4, the two teams then face each other in Eliminator.
• LSG lose their final league game against KKR and remain on 15 points. That means their qualification will now depend on other games as well as the net run rate. RCB, on the other hand, win their last two matches to reach 16 points and finish second due to other results in play. In that case, RCB face LSG either in Qualifier 2 or in the final if they win Qualifier 1 and LSG win both Eliminator as well as Qualifier 2.