The Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) will be in action against Punjab Kings (PBKS) on April 15 in the IPL 2023 at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow. The KL Rahul-led team have made a great start to the season and having won 3 out of their 4 games are second on the points table behind RR.
LSG made it two wins in a row as they beat RCB by one wicket on April 10 at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
Bengaluru was hit by Marcus Stoinis (65 off 30) and Nicholas Pooran (62 off 19) storms as the two helped LSG pull off a sensational chase off the last ball of the game in a drama-filled last over.
Pooran is currently the highest run-scorer for the team with 141 runs at a strike rate of 220. His West Indian compatriot, Kyle Mayers has scored 139 runs at a strike rate of 180. He made a lightning start to the season with 126 runs in the opening two games but has subsequently scored only 13 runs in the last two. Quinton de Kock might replace him in the line-up as he has been waiting patiently in the wings for the last two games after returning from national duty. The opening pair of Rahul and de Kock scored more than 1100 IPL runs between them last season and the LSG hierarchy will hope they can once again dominate opposition bowlers.
De Kock’s return to the line-up might be beneficial to the skipper as well, Rahul’s form is a concern for LSG as he has only scored 81 runs in the 4 games so far at a paltry strike rate of 100. Ayush Badoni and Krunal Pandya have also ably contributed to the team’s batting efforts so far.
{{/usCountry}}De Kock’s return to the line-up might be beneficial to the skipper as well, Rahul’s form is a concern for LSG as he has only scored 81 runs in the 4 games so far at a paltry strike rate of 100. Ayush Badoni and Krunal Pandya have also ably contributed to the team’s batting efforts so far.
{{/usCountry}}The bowlers have worked well as a unit so far this season. Mark Wood has picked 9 wickets at an economy of 8. Ravi Bishnoi has picked 6 wickets at an economy of 7, Amit Mishra and Krunal Pandya have both chipped in with 3 wickets each at an economy of 7.
Avesh khan would be expected to be more economical as he has picked 3 wickets but has conceded more than 11 runs an over. Jaydev Unadkat has also been expensive in the games he has played so far and could be replaced by Yash Thakur in the playing eleven.
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.
Here's LSG's likely XI vs PBKS:
Openers: KL Rahul (c), Quinton de Kock (wk).
Middle Order: Nicholas Pooran, Ayush Badoni.
All-Rounders: Deepak Hooda, Krunal Pandya, Marcus Stoinis.
Bowlers: Mark Wood, Avesh Khan, Yash Thakur, Ravi Bishnoi.
Impact Player
Depending on whether LSG bat or field first, Amit Mishra or Ayush Badoni will play their role as the Impact Player.