The Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) will be in action against the defending champions Gujarat Titans (GT) at the Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow on Saturday. LSG will be looking for consecutive wins after defeating top-of-the-table Rajasthan in the last game.
The KL Rahul-led team have won four and lost two of their six games so far and is second on the points table behind RR with the same points but an inferior net run rate.
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. They then lost a close encounter to PBKS by 2 wickets in another final-over finish in Lucknow.
Last time out, 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.
Kyle Mayers' composed knock of 51(42) coupled with late bursts from Marcus Stoinis (21 off 16) and Nicholas Pooran (29 off 20) helped LSG post 154/7. A disciplined performance from the bowlers, led by Avesh Khan (3/28), saw the away side choke the RR batters, maintain the stranglehold, hold their nerve and restrict LSG to 144/6 to win the match by 10 runs.
Mayers is the top run-getter for the team so far with 219 runs. Rahul and Pooran have scored 194 and 170 runs respectively. Stoinis has chipped in with 144 runs so far. 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 and that the South African will have to wait longer for his opportunity.
{{/usCountry}}Mayers is the top run-getter for the team so far with 219 runs. Rahul and Pooran have scored 194 and 170 runs respectively. Stoinis has chipped in with 144 runs so far. 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 and that the South African will have to wait longer for his opportunity.
{{/usCountry}}Ayush Badoni and Krunal Pandya have also ably contributed to the team’s batting efforts so far. Deepak Hooda has been in poor form this season and will be hoping to make a notable contribution in the upcoming games.
The bowlers have worked well as a unit so far this season. Mark Wood has picked 11 wickets in the four games he has played so far. Ravi Bishnoi has picked 8 wickets and Avesh Khan has also picked up 6 wickets. Amit Mishra, Marcus Stoinis and Krunal Pandya have also chipped in with important performances for the team this season.
Yudhvir Singh impressed on his debut in the IPL against PBKS. But was expensive in the last game against RR. Naveen-ul-Haq replaced Wood in the line-up against RR and conceded only 19 runs in his four. No particular reason was given for Wood’s absence, so Naveen could continue in the line-up if it was a tactical change.
In another boost to the bowling line-up, Left-arm pacer Mohsin Khan is set 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.
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, Yudhvir Singh, Ravi Bishnoi
Impact Player: Amit Mishra and Ayush Badoni have played their role as the Impact player to great effect so far depending on whether LSG bat or field first.