The Lucknow Super Giants undoubtedly arrived in their hometown on Wednesday with a positive attitude and a strong stride. You don’t frequently defeat CSK in Chennai, matching them phase by phase and ultimately outperforming them. Although their most recent return home comes with a warning, it’s the kind of victory that may energize a team vying for the postseason. It’s not simply the caliber of the enemy that shows up on their soil; it’s also the extra cunning of the terrain on which they engage.
Similar to CSK this year, LSG has proven difficult to defeat at home. aside from the lone instance in the past that Delhi Capitals chased effectively. The fact that the ground chosen for the match is the same as the Delhi fixture—a black soil surface that saw LSG suffer a middle-overs collapse—will pique the curiosity of Rajasthan Royals, who would like to make the playoffs by the conclusion of Saturday. Following the PowerPlay in that game, LSG scored 64/5 in the 10 overs that followed before faltering to a below-average total. The majority of the damage was done that day by Kuldeep Yadav, who turned the ball both ways to remove Nicholas Pooran and Marcus Stoinis off consecutive deliveries—the men who engineered the thrilling Chennai game.
Coincidentally, LSG’s assistant coach Sridharan Sriram stated on the day of the match that in order to avoid being predictable and being taken for plenty in the middle overs, where batsmen have been dominant this season, spinners must be able to flip the ball both ways. The game’s course will subsequently be determined by players like R Ashwin and Ravi Bishnoi, who will add their variations and bad boys to this period. Yuzvendra Chahal might also benefit from a higher googly frequency, especially to a batsman like Phangan who can cause them harm if he reaches the final overs.
It’s interesting to see the middle-overs (overs 7-16) statistics for this season thus far. RR has struck at a higher rate than LSG (144.76 vs. 138.79), but LSG has been more economical with the ball (Economy rate of 8.23 vs. 8.92). So get ready for an exciting middle-overs match.
When: April 27, 2024, 7:30 PM IST vs. Rajasthan Royals vs. Lucknow Super Giants
Where: Cricket Stadium Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana, Lucknow
What to anticipate: Not a sprint competition? One of the venue’s four black soil pitches will be used for the Saturday match. It’s the surface on which LSG required Ayush Badoni’s 35-ball fifty-five to rally from a dangerous 94/7 deficit against DC.
RR 3 – 1 LSG, head-to-head. All of these games’ winners batted first.
Group Vigilance
Super Giants of Lucknow
Mayank Yadav bowled at full tilt on the eve of the game, despite his injuries. Regarding his availability, LSG remained tight-lipped because Sriram believed “he’s pretty close” to returning.
Strategies & Pairings:
If Mayank is fit to return to the starting eleven, LSG can go in one of two directions: either bring him in for Yash Thakur or Mohsin Khan, or adopt an all-India pace attack to clear the way for Kyle Mayers to be selected as the fourth foreign pick, replacing the struggling Devdutt Padikkal. The West Indian, who has hammered Yuzvendra Chahal for 23 runs in 10 balls in the IPL, is a solid matchup choice. In Chennai, Stoinis scored a century while batting at number three, but with Mayers added, they will have a potent and adaptable 3-4-5 axis (Stoinis-Mayers-Pooran).
Quinton de Kock, KL Rahul, Marcus Stoinis, Nicholas Pooran, Devdutt Padikkal/Kyle Mayers, Deepak Hooda, Ayush Badoni, Krunal Pandya, Ravi Bishnoi, Matt Henry/Mohsin Khan, and Yash Thakur are the probable starting eleven. [Mayank Yadav is the impact substitute.]
Royals of Rajasthan
Availability/Injuries: The table-toppers have no injuries to report.
Strategies & Pairings:
The possibility of bowling to some of the LSG hitters, such as Quinton de Kock, Ayush Badoni, and Devdutt Padikkal, who have all had difficulty this season against left-arm quicks, would have Trent Boult salivating. However, the batting match versus KL Rahul can go in the batter’s favor. This season, the LSG skipper has scored 168.75 [108 Runs | 64 Balls] against left-arm pacers. He has scored 92 runs in 62 balls at 148.4 against Boult in the IPL, however he has been removed twice. In contrast, Sandeep Sharma has been extremely effective against both of LSG’s openers. Rahul, who has given up on his strike rate this season, has scored just 113.1 against the pacer [83 balls | 73 runs | 1 dismissal]. Quinton De Kock, on the other hand, has 43 runs in 35 balls and two dismissals against the pacer.
Even though Ashwin has been costly and wicketless in the last six games, if he keeps up his dominance over Pooran and Stoinis, all of that will be forgotten. In the IPL, Stoinis has had difficulty against the offie; he has scored 23 off 27 balls and been removed once. In as many balls, Pooran has scored 25 runs and been dismissed. Against the Australian, who has been bowled out five times this season by spinners, even Chahal might be the best option.
Potential Starting XI: Trent Boult, Avesh Khan, Sandeep Sharma, Yuzvendra Chahal, Dhruv Jurel, Shimron Hetmyer, Rovman Powell, Sanju Samson, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Riyan Parag [Jos Buttler, Impact Substitute]
Were you aware?
– This season, Nicholas Pooran has amassed 129 runs in 72 balls at 179.16, with nine fours and eleven sixes in the death overs.
– Sanju Samson has amassed a respectable strike rate while scoring the majority of his runs at home this season. In three innings away from home, he has only scored 42 runs.
– Ravi Bishnoi has amassed 13 wickets at an economy rate of just 7.40 in 11 games played in Lucknow.
What they expressed:
He seems like a really grounded individual to me. He and I have collaborated for the past month or so. It’s excellent that for a young, inexperienced fast bowler, he appears to be quite mature and aware of his body. He carries with him the cricket culture of Delhi, where he learned self-sufficiency. In terms of the locations he bowls, he has excellent cricketing judgement, and his execution has been excellent. For me, what stands out more than the pace he’s offered is the execution and the lengths he’s reached. His accuracy in bowling has stood out, but his rhythm, run-up speed, and arm speed all contribute to his 155 (kmph) rating. That is crucial in my opinion.” Mayank Yadav called Sriramon “the cynosure of all eyes.”
“There are advantages. He would have bowled to them in the nets [last year] because he is aware of their batsmen. Thus, there is a gain. I think Avesh is bowling the best toward the end; he’s hitting his yorkers perfectly.” Dhruv Jurel discussing the “advantage” of having Avesh Khan, a former LSG bowler, on his team.
