Lucknow Super Giants will take on the Punjab Kings in their own backyard in Lucknow. Lucknow is in the 2nd position in the points table with 3 wins in 4 games. They won their last game against RCB in a nail-biting encounter on the last ball. Their batters are in good form while there is room for improvement in the bowling department.
Punjab, on the other hand, has lost the last two games and is in the 6th position with 2 wins in 4 matches. They will be eager to bounce back on the winning track. Their batters and bowlers have been inconsistent and they’ll need to fix that in this match. They are heavily dependent on Shikhar Dhawan for doing the bulk of the scoring. Matt Short did well in the last match while the likes of Prabhsimran Singh and Bhanuka Rajapaksa need to be consistent.
Team Preview
Lucknow Super Giants
KL Rahul’s poor form is a big concern for the home side in this game. Deepak Hooda too has failed to get going in the 4 games until now. Nicholas Pooran, Marcus Stoinis and Kyle Mayers are the only consistent batters for Lucknow. They’ll need their Indian batters to step up and take responsibility.
Their bowlers were very expensive in the last game. Mark Wood and Ravi Bishnoi are consistent performers with the ball. Krunal Pandya did well against the Sunrisers. Avesh Khan has been very expensive until now. Amit Mishra has picked wickets in every game he has played. Lucknow may look to bring in Quinton de Kock for this match to strengthen their batting. They are in good form as a team and will be eyeing their third consecutive win in this match.
Punjab Kings
Punjab’s batting, as mentioned earlier, is heavily dependent on Shikhar Dhawan. The other batters have a high-risk approach and they fail to put up a competitive total if their captain is dismissed early like in the last game. Matthew Short played well and it’s a great sign for the Kings. Prabhsimran Singh has 2 ducks in the last two games and he needs to make a move in this game. Bhanuka Rajapaksa looked in horrible touch and Sikandar Raza is expected to replace him in this game.
Pitch Venue Report
The pitch at Lucknow has been two-paced in both the games played here. It was very slow in the last game with a low bounce. Spinners and slow bowlers will be successful here. Batting is expected to be difficult. SRH scored 121 in the last game at this venue and Lucknow lost 5 wickets while chasing the target. Teams will prefer chasing and there may be some dew in the latter half of the game. The average first innings score here is 157 runs in the two games so far.
Probable Playing XI
Lucknow Super Giants: KL Rahul (c), Kyle Mayers/Quinton de Kock (wk), Deepak Hooda, Krunal Pandya, Marcus Stoinis, Nicholas Pooran, Amit Mishra/Ayush Badoni (Impact Sub) Ravi Bishnoi, Jaydev Unadkat, Mark Wood, Avesh Khan
Punjab Kings: Shikhar Dhawan (c), Prabhsimran Singh, Matthew Short, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Sikandar Raza, Sam Curran, Shahrukh Khan, Harpreet Brar, Nathan Ellis/Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar, Arshdeep Singh
Players to Watch Out For
Shikhar Dhawan
Shikhar Dhawan is the highest run-scorer of the tournament with 233 runs in 4 games. He’s averaging 116.50 and his strike rate is 146.54. Dhawan has been in sublime form and he will be the best batter for Punjab in this match. He was dismissed early in the last game Dhawan will be eager to score big in this one.
Sam Curran
Sam Curran will bat in the middle order for Punjab and he will bowl in the crucial phases as well. He has scored 20-30 runs consistently and was brilliant with the ball in the last game. Curran is a match-winner with both bat and ball.
Nicholas Pooran
Nicholas Pooran has scored 141 runs at an average of 47 and his strike rate is a whopping 220. He has been in red-hot form this season and is a key batter for Lucknow in the middle overs. Pooran played a match-winning knock in the last game.
Mark Wood
Mark Wood has 9 wickets to his name in 3 games this season. He picked up a 5-wicket haul at this venue. Wood is one of the fastest bowlers in world cricket and he can trouble the Punjab batters with his pace and bounce.
Key Matchups
Jitesh Sharma vs Avesh Khan: Runs – 1, Balls – 4, Dismissals – 1
Shikhar Dhawan vs Mark Wood (T20Is): Runs – 1, Balls – 5, Dismissals – 1
Marcus Stoinis vs Rahul Chahar: Runs – 33, Balls – 14, Dismissals – 1
Shikhar Dhawan vs Ravi Bishnoi: Runs – 32, Balls – 22, Dismissals – 1
LSG vs PBKS Dream11 Team
Note: This is not our final Dream11 Team as we are not aware of the Toss Result/Final Playing XI of both teams at this moment.
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