IPL 2023: Match 21, Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) Predicted Playing XI vs Punjab Kings

Lucknow Super Giants. (Photo Source: BCCI/IPL)

After relishing a historic game against Faf du Plessis’ Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) head back home for their next fixture. KL Rahul and Co. will be up against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow on Saturday, April 15.

Speaking about their head-to-head records, both franchises have locked horns in just one game thus far. In 2022, which was LSG’s debut season, the KL Rahul-led side emerged victorious by 20 runs and will look to add another victory this edition.

While the home side have won two back-to-back games in IPL 2023, Punjab are heading into the forthcoming clash with two consecutive losses off their four games. An exciting clash is on the cards as both teams will be gunning to obtain results in their favour.

Here’s Lucknow Super Giants’ predicted XI against Punjab Kings:

Openers: KL Rahul (c), Kyle Mayers

KL Rahul and Kyle Mayers. (Photo Source: BCCI/IPL)

The opening duo of Kyle Mayers and skipper KL Rahul failed to put on a solid foundation in the previous match against RCB. While Mayers was dismissed for a duck off the first three balls, Rahul played a delicate knock of 18 runs off 20 balls and was unable to convert it into a big score.

However, the Caribbean opener has shown what he is capable of when he gets into his zone. His explosive hitting prowess has earned him a consistent spot in the XI and he will look to get back to his rhythm against Punjab in the next game.

KL Rahul has been unable to hit the ground running and convert his scores into bigger ones. The batter has preferred playing a bit too safe which in the previous match caused trouble for the rest of the unit in the high-scoring chase.

Despite this, the batter has a terrific understanding of the game and will aim to swiftly get the big runs and lead the side from the front in the upcoming matches. All eyes will be on the skipper when he takes the field against Shikhar Dhawan’s Punjab Kings on Saturday.

Middle Order: Nicholas Pooran (wk)

Nicholas Pooran. (Photo Source: BCCI/IPL)

Wicketkeeper-batter Nicholas Pooran hammered a 19-ball 62 against RCB in their high-scoring run chase. His innings-defining knock included seven maximums and four boundaries with an aggressive strike rate of 326.32.

LSG signed Pooran to solve their middle-order issues as the side was heavily reliant on the top order to get most of the runs in 2022. The Caribbean Southpaw has lived up to his price tag thus far and has carved out instrumental innings. With 141 runs in four matches, he will look to maintain his fine run with the bat and get the big runs coming down the order.

All-rounders: Deepak Hooda, Krunal Pandya, Marcus Stoinis

Marcus Stoinis. (Photo Source: BCCI/IPL)

Similar to the explosive Caribbean batter Pooran, Marcus Stoinis too played an instrumental knock against RCB that shifted the momentum in his team’s favour. The star all-rounder clobbered five maximums and six boundaries to get a score of 65 runs off 30 balls.

While the Aussie all-rounder is yet to perform with the ball, he will aim to continue playing such knocks to get his side ahead in the contest. Krunal Pandya played a Player of the Match innings against Sunrisers Hyderabad after he got three wickets for 18 runs in his four overs and scored 34 off 23 balls.

However, in the following game against RCB, Krunal was unable to keep his economy in check as he gave away 35 runs in four overs with just one wicket. Additionally, he was also dismissed for nought off just two balls. Despite this, the all-rounder is capable of playing game-changing knocks and has the quality required to flourish in the crunch moments of the game.

Deepak Hooda has been unable to really create the required impact he would like to have created thus far. However, the management has been backing the all-rounder to settle down with the hopes that he will fire soon for the side and get them the vital runs down the order.

Bowlers: Jaydev Unadkat, Amit Mishra, Avesh Khan, Mark Wood, Ravi Bishnoi

Mark wood. (Photo Source: BCCI/IPL)

The LSG bowling unit endured a dismal outing in the previous match against RCB. The rival top-order was able to post a mammoth 212 runs and target the bowlers quite comfortably in the first innings of the contest.

Mark Wood is among the leading wicket-takers in the top-tier league with nine wickets in three outings. He was the most economical bowler in the last outing, concluding his four overs with a wicket and an economy of 8.00. The pacer has the ability to rip through the rival batting order and hand his side the breakthroughs.

Considering that the track at the Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow is slow and offers assistance to the spinners, Amit Mishra and Ravi Bishnoi will look to play an important role in the forthcoming match. LSG using the duo spinners in the first few overs and during the middle overs could prove to be lethal as PBKS will find it tricky to target them for the big runs.

LSG have quality in their pace bowling attack considering that they have seamers such as Avesh Khan and Jaydev Unadkat. The duo can cause much of the damage by derailing the rival team in their innings but they have been unable to get to their lethal best.

In the last match, Unadkat leaked 27 in two overs whereas Avesh gave away 53 runs in his four overs. Both will look to have an improved outing against Punjab and also look to add wickets under their belt.

Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) probable Playing XI:

KL Rahul (c), Kyle Mayers, Deepak Hooda, Marcus Stoinis, Krunal Pandya, Nicholas Pooran (wk), Jaydev Unadkat, Amit Mishra, Avesh Khan, Mark Wood, Ravi Bishnoi

Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) Probable impact players:

Ayush Badoni, Yash Thakur, Quinton de Kock, Prerak Mankad, Krishnappa Gowtham