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Focus on captain KL Rahul as Lucknow look to bounce back from GT loss: LSG's likely XI vs PBKS in IPL 2023
The match against Punjab Kings will be Lucknow Super Giants' first since their stunning defeat to the Gujarat Titans.
The Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) will be in action against the Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the IPL 2023 on April 28 at the Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali. LSG will be looking to get back to winning ways after suffering defeat at the hands of GT in the last game.
The KL Rahul-led team have won four and lost three of their seven games so far and are locked at eight points with three other teams on the points table.
LSG beat DC comfortably in their opening game of the season, but lost to CSK in a close encounter in the next game. LSG then picked up two consecutive wins against SRH and RCB in Bangalore. LSG lost the reverse fixture in a close encounter to PBKS by 2 wickets in a final over finish in Lucknow.
Lucknow Super Giants bounced back after the defeat against Punjab Kings to beat the in-form Rajasthan Royals at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur. But lost to the Gujarat Titans (GT) in their last game in Lucknow. The batters let the team down after the bowlers did brilliantly to restrict GT to 135/6. The batters wilted under the pressure from the GT bowlers and LSG fell short of their target by 7 runs.
KL Rahul is the top run-getter for the team so far with 262 runs but his strike rate of 114 is a concern. Kyle Mayers has scored 243 runs this season. Nicholas Pooran and Marcus Stoinis have scored 171 and 144 runs respectively. Quinton de Kock, who scored more than 500 runs for the team last year has still not played a game this season after returning from national duty. Skipper Rahul admitted it is unfortunate that de Kock is not playing but also acknowledged that Mayers has been in great form this season and that the South African will have to wait longer for his opportunity.
Deepak Hooda has been in poor form this season and will be hoping to make a notable contribution in the upcoming games. He has scored less than 50 runs so far this season, whereas he was the third highest run-scorer for the team in 2022 over 400 runs.
The bowlers have worked well as a unit so far this season. Mark Wood has picked eleven wickets in the four games he has played so far. Ravi Bishnoi has picked eight wickets so far. Avesh Khan and Krunal Pandya have both picked up six wickets each. Amit Mishra and Marcus Stoinis have chipped in with four wickets each.
Wood has missed the last few games with illness and might only play a few more games this season as he is expected to go back to England in the coming weeks in order to be present at the birth of his child in late May. Naveen-ul-Haq has done well since replacing Wood in the line-up.
LSG might already have a replacement for Wood in the ranks as Left-arm pacer Mohsin Khan is expected to join the team for the remainder of the 2023 season, having missed action thus far due to a shoulder injury. The 24-year-old finished the 2022 season with 14 wickets from just nine matches and could play an important role for the team later down the line if he can regain his fitness in time.
Impact Player: Amit Mishra, Ayush Badoni, Yudhvir Singh, Jaydev Unadkat and K Gowtham could all be Impact player options for LSG.
Openers: KL Rahul (c), Kyle Mayers.
Middle Order: Nicholas Pooran (wk), Ayush Badoni.
All-Rounders: Deepak Hooda, Krunal Pandya, Marcus Stoinis.
Bowlers: Naveen-ul-Haq, Avesh Khan, Amit Mishra, Ravi Bishnoi.
