Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) fought hard in a high-scoring affair against Chennai Super Kings in their previous outing but failed to come out on top. With the inclusion of Quinton de Kock, the side has been handed with a major boost ahead of their forthcoming clash.
Despite their loss against CSK, the Lucknow outfit look formidable on paper with quite a few top-drawer players performing exceedingly well. However, the side will need consistency from the bowling unit and middle order to fire big in the forthcoming games to safely make a spot in the top four of the points table.
LSG will be up against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in their third game of the season at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow on Friday, April 7. SRH too have been reinforced with regular skipper Aiden Markram returning to the XI. An exciting clash is on the cards as all eyes will be on the two teams fighting it out for the crucial points in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023.
Here’s Lucknow Super Giants’ predicted XI against Sunrisers Hyderabad:
Openers: KL Rahul (c), Quinton de Kock
KL Rahul. (Photo Source: BCCI/IPL)
KL Rahul has endured a rather underwhelming start to the season after registering scores of eight and 20 runs respectively in the first two games against DC and CSK. That said, the batter’s understanding of the game and the situation is fairly on point and he will be eager to get back to form against Hyderabad.
The forthcoming contest will most likely see the return of South Africa wicketkeeper-batter Quinton de Kock to the XI. After concluding his international assignment, de Kock will most likely replace Kyle Mayers as the opener in the match against SRH and will hope to hit the ground running without wasting much time.
Last season, both Rahul and de Kock managed to do the bulk of the scoring for the side and will look to replicate a similar performance this time around.
Middle Order: Nicholas Pooran (wk), Kyle Mayers
Pooran has shown glimpses of what he is capable of as he got a quick-fire 18-ball 32 in his previous outing and notched up 36 runs in the first game. However, the Trinidad-born keeper-batter has not been able to convert his explosive starts into big scores. This is something he will look to work on going forward which will massively help LSG to attain humongous totals.
With the inclusion of de Kock, Kyle Mayers could play down the order in the upcoming clash. This would essentially mean that the Lucknow-based franchise will be forced to pick between Mayers and Marcus Stoinis as the overseas option.
Considering that Stoinis has not been too impressive and Mayers has created a massive impact since donning the jersey, the management could give the latter, the green signal in the next game.
The 30-year-old Barbados all-rounder got 73 runs on his debut and followed it with another fifty (53 runs) in his second outing. In addition to that, Mayers can also bowl a couple of overs and get some breakthroughs.
All-rounders: Deepak Hooda, Krunal Pandya, Krishnappa Gowtham
Krishnappa Gowtham. (Photo Source: BCCI/IPL)
Deepak Hooda and Krunal Pandya had a disastrous start to their campaign. The duo has been unable to create any kind of impact with the bat or with the ball thus far, which is why the skipper resorted to other options in the bowling unit.
Against CSK, Krunal leaked runs at a rate of 10.50 as he gave 21 in his two overs with no wickets under his belt. Likewise, with the bat, the two have failed to propel the team to big scores coming down the order. With matches coming thick and fast, the two will need to step up quickly and get going.
Krishnappa Gowtham came in as Impact Player in the first match against Delhi and dispatched the ball for a maximum to help score a 190-plus total. However, he was unable to keep his rhythm in the subsequent match against CSK as he leaked 20 runs in his one over and could only manage to score 17 off 11 balls.
Bowlers: Avesh Khan, Mark Wood, Ravi Bishnoi, Yash Thakur
Mark Wood kickstarted his IPL campaign with a five-for against Delhi and swiftly created a lasting impression. He continued his purple patch with a three-wicket haul in the following game. However, the English pacer proved to be quite expensive in his four overs as he gave away 49 runs.
Yash Thakur and Avesh Khan are yet to get into their destructive best considering their potential. Glimpses of what Avesh can produce were seen against Delhi as he returned two wickets but followed it with 39 runs in his three overs with one scalp to his name in the next game.
Thakur too proved to be expensive as he gave away 36 in his four overs and got no breakthroughs. The two pacers will need to quickly get into their element and restrict rival teams from targeting them. Spinner Ravi Bishnoi has done fairly well with the ball as he has been capable of denting the opposition batting line-up.
Thus far, Bishnoi has got five wickets and will be hungry for more scalps as the season progresses. Notably, the young lad has been able to also restrict the rival teams from scoring big against him which will be a big boost for Lucknow in the season.
Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) probable XI
Quinton de Kock (wk), Kyle Mayers, KL Rahul (c), Deepak Hooda, Nicholas Pooran, Krunal Pandya, Krishnappa Gowtham, Avesh Khan, Mark Wood, Ravi Bishnoi, Yash Thakur
LSG Probable impact players:
Ayush Badoni, Jaydev Unadkat, Marcus Stoinis, Prerak Mankad, Amit Mishra