It was Kolkata Knight Riders’ first-ever IPL match in Lucknow, and they would have walked into town with pride. In the Indian Premier League, a quick turnaround can be intimidating, but not for a team that has just won its first game at the revered Wankhede since 2012. Even though the Mumbai Indians are in a terrible situation right now, Shreyas Iyer’s team did a commendable job of rallying from a top-order collapse thanks to some outstanding bowling. The victory created a vital two-point differential between them and their opponents for Sunday night as the regular season rapidly approaches its conclusion.
Even though they have one more game in the games played column, LSG will still aim to gain the same lead over the pursuing group. They started the season with a three-game winning streak, but Rahul’s team has since taken two leaps forward and one step back. Although one loss hasn’t ended their season, another might force them into a scrap for the middle of the table. With a fifth victory in seven games to close out the Lucknow portion of the season, they’ll be hoping to avoid it.
When: May 5, 2024, 19:30 IST vs. Kolkata Knight Riders vs. Lucknow Super Giants
Where: Cricket Stadium Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana, Lucknow
What to expect: The center wicket was selected in the previous match to deny batters the advantage of one shorter side, which provided bowlers with some respite. Depending on the pitch they choose for Sunday, runs will either flow or not. Six-hitting has been more difficult at this ground because of its large dimensions, but KKR may soon put that to the test.
Head-to-head: KKR -1 – LSG 3. This will be these two teams’ first-ever meeting in Lucknow.
Collective Eye:
Super Giants of Lucknow
Availability/Injuries: Mayank Yadav is unlikely to play again this year after suffering another setback in LSG’s match versus MI.
Strategies & Matchups: Against LSG in the rematch, Phil Salt scored his highest score of the year, a devastating 89 off 47. However, the KKR opener (53 runs in 4 innings) has been a typical away game. He was a match for both Yash Thakur and Mohsin Khan in the match, so LSG may need to take a different approach. On the other hand, Mohsin might be the key to early Sunil Narine removal. Despite scoring 61 off 46 balls, the KKR opener has been removed three times this season by left-arm quicks. The large square limits of Ekana stadium should help the home team trick Narine into taking a fake shot.
Yash Thakur, Naveen-ul-Haq, Mohsin Khan, Ashton Turner, Ayush Badoni, Krunal Pandya, Marcus Stoinis, Deepak Hooda, Nicholas Pooran, and KL Rahul (C, wk) are the probable members of the playing eleven. Impact replacement: Arshin Kulkarni
Knight Riders of Kolkata
Injuries/Availability:Harshit Rana returned to the starting lineup for KKR’s match against MI after serving a one-match ban.
Strategies & Matchups: Just one day prior, Narine and Varun Chakravarthy combined to give up just 44 runs for four wickets in eight overs (2 for 22 each). Marcus Stoinis and Nicholas Pooran, two of LSG’s top match-winners, present a favorable matchup for both. This season, spin has removed Stoinis six times, with Chakravarthy doing it during the home match. Even though he had to bowl his full allotment of overs against MI, Andre Russell has been productive against the LSG duo.
If Quinton de Kock is activated by LSG after being benched in the last match, KKR will unleash Mitchell Starc on him. The Australian bowler, a left-arm pacer, is returning from a four-wicket haul and has been a problem for South African batsmen this season with six dismissals.
Philip Salt (wk), Sunil Narine, Venkatesh Iyer, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh, Mitchell Starc, Harshit Rana, Vaibhav Arora, and Varun Chakaravarthy are the probable starting eleven. [Manish Pandey/Angkrish Raghuvanshi as an impact substitute]
Were you aware?
- Against KKR, KL Rahul has six scores of 50 or more in 14 innings, scoring runs at a strike percentage of 138.41.
- Narine and Varun have combined to take 26 wickets in 77 overs over ten matches, giving up just 7.65 per over.
