With T20 World Cup selection round the corner, KL Rahul will have one final chance to stake claim on the second wicketkeeper’s spot in the Indian team when Lucknow Super Giants host Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League in Lucknow on April 30.
| Photo Credit: Sandeep Saxena

Hanging on to its playoff chances by a thread and fast running out of time, Mumbai Indians (MI) will hope its season turnaround can begin with the Indian Premier League match against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) at the Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow on April 30.

The dwindling returns from its batters, starting at the top with Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan, have been symptomatic of its ailing season.

The opening salvo had four 50-plus stands in the side’s first six games. In the three outings since, it has had none.

MI will hope Pandya’s 46 off 24 against the Capitals last week can help him turn a corner and bring some support for Tilak Varma.

With the ball, Nuwan Thushara has made an unceremonious start to his IPL career, conceding at 12 runs per over. The potential return of Gerald Coetzee will ease some of Jasprit Bumrah’s burden.

These issues hold a familiar ring for the Super Giants too, who will want to mend their inconsistent form before it weighs on their playoff contention. On the ascendency after back-to-back wins over Chennai Super Kings, Lucknow was handed a reality check by Rajasthan Royals last week.

To begin with, Mayank Yadav’s return to fitness brings handy reinforcement for a misfiring pace unit.

K.L. Rahul would want to put his spinners, Ravi Bishnoi and Krunal Pandya, to better use. The pair has bowled a combined 50.4 overs across nine games.

Calls for improvement will fall on the Lucknow batters as well, with the heavy lifting having been left for Rahul and Nicholas Pooran so far. The contributions from overseas starters Quinton de Kock and Marcus Stoinis have been too far and few between.

Squads:

Mumbai Indians: Hardik Pandya (c), Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Dewald Brevis, Jasprit Bumrah, Piyush Chawla, Gerald Coetzee, Tim David, Shreyas Gopal, Ishan Kishan (wk), Anshul Kamboj, Kumar Kartikeya, Akash Madhwal, Kwena Maphaka, Mohammad Nabi, Shams Mulani, Naman Dhir, Shivalik Sharma, Romario Shepherd, Arjun Tendulkar, Nuwan Thushara, Tilak Varma, Harvik Desai, Nehal Wadhera, Luke Wood.

Lucknow Super Giants: Quinton de Kock, KL Rahul (c & wk), Deepak Hooda, Ayush Badoni, Marcus Stoinis, Nicholas Pooran, Krunal Pandya, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohsin Khan, Shamar Joseph, Yash Thakur, Manimaran Siddharth, Prerak Mankad, Arshad Khan, Krishnappa Gowtham, Amit Mishra, Kyle Mayers, Ashton Turner, Matt Henry, Naveen-ul-Haq, Devdutt Padikkal, Yudhvir Singh Charak, Mayank Yadav and Arshin Kulkarni.

Match starts 7.30pm IST.

Lucknow Super Giants players celebrate their win over Chennai Super Kings. They will up against the high-flying Rajasthan Royals in Lucknow on April 27, 2024.
| Photo Credit: ANI

Far from the pack occupied in the mid-table scrap for the playoffs spots, Rajasthan Royals will indulge itself in the prospect of strolling its way in when it visits Lucknow Super Giants at the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Stadium in Lucknow in the Indian Premier League (IPL) on April 27.

Runaway leader Rajasthan has won all three away games so far, and a fourth triumph will take its tally to 16 points, all but sealing a place in the playoffs.

Yashasvi Jaiswal regaining his mojo with an unbeaten 104 in the nine-wicket mauling of Mumbai Indians wiped out the only blemish in the Royals’ top-order. Captain Sanju Samson would hope to emulate his exploits (82 n.o., 52b) from the Royals’ 20-run victory over the Lucknow side earlier this season.

But Super Giants, high on the twin triumphs over Chennai Super Kings (CSK), will be no pushovers. The side will wait with crossed fingers for Mayank Yadav’s return from injury. The pace phenom bowled in the nets on the match eve.

Taking cognisance of Rahul and Marcus Stoinis’ telling contributions in the Super Giants’ two wins, another leg-spinner, Yuzvendra Chahal, could be Royals’ go-to deployment too. This IPL, Rahul’s strike-rate has dipped to 93 against leg-spin while Stoinis has fallen to spinners five times in eight innings.

Lower down the order, Royals will seek a solution for Nicolas Pooran. The southpaw has salvaged his side by injecting momentum, hitting at a strike-rate of nearly 170 — the highest for a Lucknow batter.

Teams (from):

Rajasthan Royals: Sanju Samson (c), Jos Buttler, Shimron Hetmyer, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel, Riyan Parag, Donovan Ferreira, Kunal Rathore, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Sen, Navdeep Saini, Sandeep Sharma, Trent Boult, Yuzvendra Chahal, Avesh Khan, Rovman Powell, Shubham Dubey, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Abid Mushtaq, Nandre Burger, Tanush Kotian, Keshav Maharaj.

Lucknow Super Giants: Quinton de Kock, KL Rahul (c & wk), Deepak Hooda, Ayush Badoni, Marcus Stoinis, Nicholas Pooran, Krunal Pandya, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohsin Khan, Shamar Joseph, Yash Thakur, Manimaran Siddharth, Prerak Mankad, Arshad Khan, Krishnappa Gowtham, Amit Mishra, Kyle Mayers, Ashton Turner, Matt Henry, Naveen-ul-Haq, Devdutt Padikkal, Yudhvir Singh Charak, Mayank Yadav and Arshin Kulkarni.

Match start time: 7.30 PM (IST).

Lucknow Super Giants captain K.L. Rahul with his Chennai Super Kings counterpart Ruturaj Gaikwad.
| Photo Credit: AP

hennai Super Kings will look to regain some momentum in what has been a start-stop campaign when it takes on Lucknow Super Giants in the reverse fixture at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium on April 23. The two sides met three days back in Lucknow, where LSG easily prevailed by eight wickets.

Super Kings enters a crucial phase of the tournament with three matches at home over the next eight days, which could determine the chance of making the playoffs. CSK has won all three games in its backyard this year and will want to continue that form to add to its four wins.

However, the defending champion has some big headaches to solve, mainly around its struggles in the PowerPlay with both bat and ball.

Runs have dried up for key top-order batters like Rachin Ravindra and Ajinkya Rahane, and the batting relies heavily on Ruturaj Gaikwad and Shivam Dube. The skipper demoted himself to the number three in the last two matches, and it will be interesting to see if he goes back to open. Similarly, the pacers’ inability to give early breakthroughs will be an area the team needs to address.

Meanwhile, Super Giants had some positives from the previous match. The bowlers set the game up before skipper K.L. Rahul led from the front with a quick-fire half-century alongside Quinton de Kock.

The presence of spinners Krunal Pandya, Ravi Bishnoi, and M. Siddharth gives the visitors depth in their squad for the conditions in Chepauk as they look to do the double against the five-time champion.

Squads:

Chennai Super Kings: Rachin Ravindra, Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Ajinkya Rahane, Daryl Mitchell, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Sameer Rizvi, MS Dhoni (wk), Shardul Thakur, Tushar Deshpande, Mustafizur Rahman, Matheesha Pathirana, Nishant Sindhu, Moeen Ali, Mitchell Santner, Shaik Rasheed, Aravelly Avanish, Maheesh Theekshana, RS Hangargekar, Simarjeet Singh, Mukesh Choudhary, Prashant Solanki, Ajay Jadav Mandal, Richard Gleeson and Deepak Chahar.

Lucknow Super Giants: Quinton de Kock, KL Rahul (c & wk), Deepak Hooda, Ayush Badoni, Marcus Stoinis, Nicholas Pooran, Krunal Pandya, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohsin Khan, Shamar Joseph, Yash Thakur, Manimaran Siddharth, Prerak Mankad, Arshad Khan, Krishnappa Gowtham, Amit Mishra, Kyle Mayers, Ashton Turner, Matt Henry, Naveen-ul-Haq, Devdutt Padikkal, Yudhvir Singh Charak, Mayank Yadav and Arshin Kulkarni.

Match start time: 7.30 PM (IST).

Lucknow Super Giants captain K.L. Rahul plays a shot against Chennai Super Kings during their IPL match in Lucknow on April 19, 2024.
| Photo Credit: PTI

Lucknow Super Giants skipper K.L. Rahul and his Chennai Super Kings counterpart Ruturaj Gaikwad have been fined ₹12 lakh each as their teams maintained a slow over rate in their Indian Premier League match in Lucknow.

Playing at home, LSG beat defending champions CSK by eights wickets in the match at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium on April 19. As it was the first offence of both the teams this season under the IPL’s Code of Conduct relating to minimum over-rate offences, both Rahul and Ruturaj were fined 12 lakh, an IPL statement read.

“Mr K.L. Rahul, Captain, Lucknow Super Giants has been fined after his team maintained a slow over-rate during Match 34 of the TATA Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 against Chennai Super Kings at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow,” the IPL said.

Regarding the other penalised player, the IPL said, “Mr Ruturaj Gaikwad, Captain, Chennai Super Kings has been fined after his team maintained a slow over-rate during Match 34 of the TATA Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 against Lucknow Super Giants at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow.”

Openers K.L. Rahul and Quinton de Kock, who made classy fifties on a slow pitch, produced a chasing masterclass to power LSG to a comfortable win over CSK. Asked to bat first, Ravindra Jadeja came up with a solid unbeaten 57 before Moeen Ali (30 off 20) and Mahendra Singh Dhoni (28 off 9) went on a six-hitting spree to take CSK to a fighting 176 for six.

In reply, K.L. Rahul (82) and De Kock (54) batted with authority during their match-winning alliance of 134, the highest partnership for any wicket at the Ekana Stadium, as LSG scored 180 for 2 in 19 overs to recover from back-to-back defeats and consolidate their position in the table.

CSK, who came into the match with twin wins, on the other hand, slumped to their third loss in this IPL.

Openers KL Rahul and Quinton de Kock, who made classy fifties on a slow pitch, produced a chasing masterclass to power Lucknow Super Giants to a comfortable eight-wicket win over Chennai Super Kings in their IPL match in Lucknow on April 19.

Asked to bat first, Ravindra Jadeja came up with a solid unbeaten 57 before Mooen Ali (30 off 20) and MS Dhoni (28 off 9) went on a six-hitting spree to take CSK to a fighting 176 for six.

In reply, Rahul (82) and De Kock (54) batted with authority during their match-winning alliance of 134, the highest partnership for any wicket at the Ekana Stadium, as LSG scored 180 for 2 in 19 overs to recover from back-to-back loss and consolidate their position in the table.

CSK, who came into the match with twin wins, on the other hand, slumped to their third loss in this IPL.

Guilty of not capitalising on his starts, Rahul finally lived up to the expectations, smashing nine fours and three sixes in 53 balls, while De Kock overcame a scratchy start to hit five fours and a six in his 43-ball knock.

Chasing 177, Rahul was the aggressor as he played some magnificent strokes to give LSG a flying start.

The skipper was harsh on Deepak Chahar as he pulled the pacer for a six, before slapping him for another maximum over cover. He also hit him for a four off a slower delivery.

Rahul also produced a punch off the backfoot for a boundary off pacer Mustafizur Rahman as runs came thick and fast.

De Kock too smashed Tushar Deshpande for a maximum over deep midwicket as the powerplay yielded 54 for 0.

Rahul next sent a short-pitched ball from pacer Matheesha Pathirana over the third man for another maximum and the bowler was left further demoralised when he dropped De Kock’s catch at short third man off Jadeja in the ninth over.

After 10 overs, LSG were 89 for no loss.

Rahul notched up his 35th fifty with a four off Jadeja in the 11th over and then picked up another boundary to complete a 100-run opening stand with De Kock.

De Kock, who was subdued in the last three games, then reached his fifty in the 15th over with a single off Mustafizur, who removed him in the last ball.

However, Nicholas Pooran came out with all cylinders blazing, slamming Pathirana for a maximum, before sending Mustafizur on a leather hunt.

A one-handed catch from Jadeja finally ended Rahul’s fabulous knock but it was too late as Pooran (23 not out) and Marcus Stoinis (8 not out) knocked off the remaining runs.

Earlier, Rahul was spot on with his bowling changes as the pacers put the CSK batters under pressure initially before spinner Krunal Pandya tightened the noose in the middle overs.

Opener Rachin Ravindra’s (0) awful run continued as left-arm pacer Mohsin rattled his stumps, while Ruturaj Gaikwad (17) fell to Yash Thakur, who induced an outside edge from the CSK skipper.

Rahane (36), who opened the innings again, played some exquisite shots, pulling LSG debutant Matt Henry for the first six of their innings as 13 came off that over.

The Mumbaikar also carted two fours off Thakur to accumulate another 13 runs in the fifth over.

Jadeja, promoted to no. 4, picked a boundary off Henry in the next over as CSK scored 52 for 2 in the first six overs.

Owing to the slowness of the track, LSG skipper immediately introduced spinners Krunal and Bishnoi and the former struck in his second over, cleaning up Rahane.

CSK’s man-in-form Shivam Dube too failed to fire with Stoinis (1/7) justifying Rahul’s decision to hand over the ball to him, striking in his first ball as the left-handed batter sliced one up in the air.

Krunal then returned to dismiss impact player Sameer Rizvi, who paid the price for his premeditated dance down the track as CSK lost half their side with 90 on board.

Jadeja, who played some cracking sweep shots, held one end up and completed his fifty with a six off Mohsin to bring out his trademark sword-wielding celebration.

Rahul’s decision to give another over to Bishnoi, however, backfired as Moeen slammed three sixes as 19 came off the 18th over before perishing.

LSG paid the price for a sloppy overrate as Dhoni slammed a four and a six off Mohsin before smashing Thakur for another maximum. He finished the innings with two more fours as 19 came off the last over.

Scoreboard

Chennai Super Kings innings: Ajinkya Rahane b Pandya 36 Rachin Ravindra b Mohsin 0 Ruturaj Gaikwad (c) c Rahul b Thakur 17 Ravindra Jadeja not out 57 Shivam Dube c Rahul b Stoinis 3 Sameer Rizvi st Rahul b Pandya 1 Moeen Ali c Badoni b Bishnoi 30 MS Dhoni not out 28 Extras: (LB-1, W-3) 4

Total: (For 6 wickets in 20 overs) 176

Fall of wickets: 1-4, 2-33, 3-68, 4-87, 5-90, 6-141.

Lucknow Super Giants bowling: Matt Henry 3-0-26-0, Mohsin Khan 4-0-37-1, Yash Thakur 4-0-45-1, Krunal Pandya 3-0-16-2, Ravi Bishnoi 4-0-44-1, Marcus Stoinis 2-0-7-1.

Lucknow Super Giants innings: Quinton de Kock c Dhoni b Mustafizur 54 KL Rahul c Jadeja b Pathirana 82 Nicholas Pooran (not out) 23 Marcus Stoinis (not out) 8 Extras (LB-3, NB-1, W-9) 13

Total (2 wickets, 19 overs) 180

Fall of wickets: 1-134, 2-161.

Chennai Super Kings bowling: Deepak Chahar 3-0-26-0, Tushar Deshpande 4-0-42-0, Mustafizur Rahman 4-0-43-1, Ravindra Jadeja 3-0-32-0, Matheesha Pathirana 3-0-29-1, Moeen Ali 1-0-5-0.

New pace sensation Mayank Yadav will be closely followed by all and sundry after his match-winning performances as Lucknow Super Giants eye a hat-trick of wins when they take on an inconsistent Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League in Lucknow on April 7.

Yadav has caught everyone’s attention in the ongoing IPL with his raw pace and razor-sharp control, winning back-to-back player-of-the-match awards.

In his debut match against Punjab Kings, the 21-year-old returned impressive figures of 3/27, stunning England batter Jonny Bairstow with his searing pace.

He followed that performance with 3/14 figures against Royal Challengers Bengaluru, blowing away Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell with a 151kmph delivery, and then cleaned up his teammate Cameron Green.

His spectacular performances have led to debates within the cricketing community whether he should be fast-tracked into the Indian team.

But only two games can’t be a parameter for a place in the Indian team. For Yadav, the crucial factor would be his consistency, which the national selectors will be closely following.

On the batting front, LSG boast of a solid opening pair of Quinton de Kock and KL Rahul. The South African has been in prime form after a rare off day in the team’s opener but the skipper needs to get his act together as he hasn’t been able to capitalise on starts.

The big-hitting Nicholas Pooran has been LSG’s go-to-man in the finishing overs while Krunal Pandya was also handy in the last game.

But the major concern for the Lucknow outfit remains the form of Devdutt Padikkal and Australian all-rounder Marcus Stoinis.

In bowling, Yadav needs more support from the likes of Naveen-ul-Haq, Yash Thakur, Mohsin Khan, Stonis, and leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi.

LSG, who are placed fourth with two wins out of three games, would also look to keep a clean slate at home and cash in on familiar conditions to register the third successive win this season.

GT, on the other hand, have had a mixed bag campaign so far under new captain Shubman Gill, winning two and losing two games to occupy the seventh spot on the points table.

Gill, who scored an unbeaten 89 off 48 balls, found some much-needed runs in the previous game and would look to continue in the same vein.

B Sai Sudharsan has looked in good touch but would be on the lookout for a big score. However, the likes of Wriddhiman Saha and Vijay Shankar need to rise to the occasion.

Mohit Sharma has been the stand-out performer for GT, but he needs more support from the likes of Azmatullah Omarzai, Umesh Yadav, Rashid Khan and Noor Ahmad.

Teams (from):

Gujarat Titans: Shubman Gill (c), David Miller, Matthew Wade, Wriddhiman Saha, Robin Minz, Kane Williamson, Abhinav Mandhar, B Sai Sudarshan, Darshan Nalkande, Vijay Shankar, Azmatullah Omarzai, Shahrukh Khan, Jayant Yadav, Rahul Tewatia, Kartik Tyagi, Shshant Mishra, Spencer Johnson, Noor Ahmad, Sai Kishore, Umesh Yadav, Rashid Khan, Joshua Little, Mohit Sharma and Manav Suthar.

Lucknow Super Giants: KL Rahul (c), Quinton de Kock, Nicholas Pooran, Ayush Badoni, Kyle Mayers, Marcus Stoinis, Deepak Hooda, Devdutt Padikkal, Ravi Bishnoi, Naveen-ul-Haq, Krunal Pandya, Yudhvir Singh, Prerak Mankad, Yash Thakur, Amit Mishra, Shamar Joseph, Mayank Yadav, Mohsin Khan, K. Gowtham, Arshin Kulkarni, M. Siddharth, Ashton Turner, Matt Henry, Mohd Arshad Khan.

Match starts at 7.30 PM.

LSG’s Mayank Yadav during the IPL 2024 match between Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) vs Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium (KSCA), in Bengaluru on April 2, 2024.
| Photo Credit: K. Murali Kumar

Mayank Yadav was too hot to handle. The Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) pacer cranked it up, going as high as 156.7 kmph, forcing Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) to back away from the fight.

The Mayank fire was lit in his first over, when he pinned Glenn Maxwell with a quick, short ball. Mayank then created magic, when he castled Australian Cameron Green with sheer pace. Green was much too late on the express delivery, meekly losing his off-stump.

Rajat Patidar was Mayank’s third victim — another short ball doing the trick. The home team, out for the count after Mayank’s blows, lost by 28 runs.

RCB vs LSG Live Score Updates, IPL 2024

RCB’s hopes rested on Impact Player Mahipal Lomror (33, 13b, 3×4, 3×6), who kept the crowd interested with some big hits. But when he fell in the 18th over, RCB’s fate was sealed.

RCB would have believed it gained a big advantage by winning the toss and opting to chase.

On a sticky M. Chinnaswamy Stadium pitch, it was left to Quinton de Kock (81, 56b, 8×4, 5×6) and Nicholas Pooran (40 n.o., 21b, 1×4, 5×6) to take LSG to a respectable total.

Opener de Kock waged a lone hand at the top of the order. De Kock received a life on 32, when Maxwell failed to hold on to a tough chance at mid-off.

LSG skipper K.L. Rahul, cleared to play after recovering from an injury, was tentative in his 14-ball 20. Devdutt Padikkal (6) was sent back through an excellent catch from wicketkeeper Anuj Rawat. de Kock cut loose in the 13th over, when he hammered a wayward Green for two sixes and a four.

RCB was quickly back on top, as LSG limped to 148 for five in 18 overs. Pooran sprung into action against left-arm seamer Reece Topley, who in search of the wide yorker, erred with full tosses. Pooran hit it into the point stands for two sixes, and then smashed a short ball onto the stadium roof. Pooran hit two maximums in the final over, bowled by Mohammed Siraj, to give LSG a crucial late fillip.

An inconsistent Royal Challengers Bengaluru would be eager to hit the turnaround button when they host Lucknow Super Giants, who will keep an eye on regular skipper KL Rahul’s fitness, in the IPL in Bengaluru on April 2.

The Royal Challengers are currently eighth on the table with two points from three matches, and alarmingly, their net run rate too has dipped to -0.71 after a heavy defeat against Kolkata Knight Riders here last week.

This is not to undermine the side under Faf du Plessis, who himself is struggling for big runs, but its ability to dish out consistent cricket is a matter of debate at this point.

Several reasons are there for that overbearing feeling. It starts with the RCB batting line-up in which Virat Kohli is the only constant with two fifties from three matches.

But Du Plessis, Glenn Maxwell, Rajat Patidar and Cameron Green, who constitute the cream of RCB’s top and middle-order, have so far made up for a faltering coalition.

The quartet’s collective returns from three matches stand at – Du Plessis (46, Avg: 15.33), Maxwell (31, Avg: 10.33), Green (54, Avg: 18) and Patidar (21, Avg: 7), and terming them underwhelming is an understatement.

It meant that RCB had to often rely on their late-order batters like Dinesh Karthik, Anuj Rawat and Mahipal Lomror to add meat to the total.

In that context, the RCB might give a break to Patidar for this game and bring in someone like Suyash Prabhudessai, who can also roll his arm for an over or two.

The senior batters’ struggles have percolated to their bowling department too. Mohammed Siraj offers the most glaring example.

The lead pacer has taken just two wickets in three matches, conceding 10 runs an over and he needs to step up immediately.

Siraj’s lack of bite has robbed RCB of a chance to take some early wickets in the Power Play and put the opposition under pressure, something he had done quite consistently during IPL 2023.

The situation has turned even grimmer as Siraj’s new-ball partner Alzarri Joseph, RCB’s Rs 11.5 crore buy in the auction, has been totally rudderless, taking a solitary wicket and leaking 9.4 runs per over.

So, the hosts might ponder the inclusion of either Reece Topley or Lockie Ferguson against Lucknow in place of the West Indian.

The spin unit of RCB offers an even more bewildering view as none among Glenn Maxwell, Karn Sharma and Mayank Dagar, the most impressive of the lot, have bowled their full quota of four overs in any of the three previous matches.

In fact, Maxwell’s off-spin was not even employed in their last match against the Knight Riders.

To make matters worse, they don’t have many reliable choices in the dugout too.

Rahul under scanner

On the other hand, the Super Giants have their own set of worries as the fitness of regular captain Rahul, who came in as an Impact Sub in their 21-run win over Punjab Kings, will be closely monitored.

Will the LSG continue to use Rahul as an impact player with Nicholas Pooran wearing the captain’s armband or will he return to his normal three-in-one role of skipper, batter and wicketkeeper? We will have to wait for the answer.

Be that as it may, the Lucknow side, the whole of the Indian cricket ecosystem too, will be delighted to see the emergence of Mayank Yadav, a fast bowler who can effortlessly touch 150 clicks.

But the 21-year-old Delhi quick will have a different kind of test at Chinnaswamy as compared to the Ekana Stadium, the venue of his IPL debut against Punjab.

Here, Mayank will have to nullify a smoother pitch and shorter boundaries but the current form of RCB batters will certainly fill him with the hopes of swelling his tally of wickets.

Teams (from):

Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Faf du Plessis (c), Glenn Maxwell, Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Anuj Rawat, Dinesh Karthik, Suyash Prabhudessai, Will Jacks, Mahipal Lomror, Karn Sharma, Manoj Bhandage, Mayank Dagar, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj, Reece Topley, Himanshu Sharma, Rajan Kumar, Cameron Green, Alzarri Joseph, Yash Dayal, Tom Curran, Lockie Ferguson, Swapnil Singh, Saurav Chauhan.

Lucknow Super Giants: KL Rahul (c), Quinton de Kock, Nicholas Pooran, Ayush Badoni, Kyle Mayers, Marcus Stoinis, Deepak Hooda, Devdutt Padikkal, Ravi Bishnoi, Naveen-ul-Haq, Krunal Pandya, Yudhvir Singh, Prerak Mankad, Yash Thakur, Amit Mishra, Shamar Joseph, Mayank Yadav, Mohsin Khan, K. Gowtham, Shivam Mavi, Arshin Kulkarni, M. Siddharth, Ashton Turner, Matt Henry, Mohd. Arshad Khan.

Match starts at 7.30 PM.

Lucknow Super Giants players celebrate a wicket during an IPL match. FIle
| Photo Credit: Shiv Kumar Pushpakar

Lucknow Super Giants is back on familiar turf. It should be hoping to get back into form as it takes on Punjab Kings in its first home match of the 17th edition of the IPL.

After the defeat to Rajasthan Royals last Sunday, LSG would want the season’s trend to continue: every team has won its first match at home. For Punjab Kings, this is the third game: it won the first and then lost the second.

Though it is very much the early days yet, no team would want to register two losses on the trot. So, much is at stake at the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Stadium on Saturday.

LSG, which qualified for the playoffs in both the editions it took part in, would be keen to put up a good show in front of its fans. For that, more of the 11 — or 12, at times — need to contribute.

Captain K.L. Rahul and Nicholas Pooran showed form against Royals, but the likes of Quinton de Kock and Devdutt Padikkal have to remain at the wicket longer. Bowlers like Ravi Bishnoi and Mohsin Khan have to be sharper, as well.

As for Kings, they need to put behind them the terrible finish to their match against Royal Challengers Bengaluru. They would be hoping for Jonny Bairstow to regain his touch at the top of the order, where skipper Shikhar Dhawan and Prabhsimran Singh also have to deliver.

Kagiso Rabada and Harpreet Brar may not mind more support in the bowling department.

Teams(from):

Lucknow Super Giants: KL Rahul (c), Quinton de Kock, Nicholas Pooran, Ayush Badoni, Kyle Mayers, Marcus Stoinis, Deepak Hooda, Devdutt Padikkal, Ravi Bishnoi, Naveen-ul-Haq, Krunal Pandya, Yudhvir Singh, Prerak Mankad, Yash Thakur, Amit Mishra, Shamar Joseph, Mayank Yadav, Mohsin Khan, K. Gowtham, Shivam Mavi, Arshin Kulkarni, M Siddharth, Ashton Turner, David Willey, Mohd. Arshad Khan.

Punjab Kings: Shikhar Dhawan (captain), Matthew Short, Prabhsimran Singh, Jitesh Sharma, Sikandar Raza, Rishi Dhawan, Liam Livingstone, Atharva Taide, Arshdeep Singh, Nathan Ellis, Sam Curran, Kagiso Rabada, Harpreet Brar, Rahul Chahar, Harpreet Bhatia, Vidwath Kaverappa, Shivam Singh, Harshal Patel, Chris Woakes, Ashutosh Sharma, Vishwanath Pratap Singh, Shashank Singh, Tanay Thyagarajann, Prince Choudhary, Rilee Rossouw.

Match starts at 7.30 PM IST.

Jasprit Bumrah returns to the Indian squad for the fifth Test against England in Dharamsala.
| Photo Credit: Gareth Copley

Senior India batter KL Rahul will not feature in the fifth and final Test against England in Dharamsala owing to an injury while pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah will return to the team, the BCCI said on February 29.

Rahul, who continues to feel sore in his right quadriceps, has travelled to London to get an expert opinion on his injury.

The wicketkeeper-batter became unavailable after the series-opener in Hyderabad in January and as per the BCCI, he was 90 per cent fit before the third Test in Rajkot earlier this month.

“Mr. KL Rahul, whose participation in the final IDFC First Bank Test was subject to fitness, has been ruled out of the fifth and final Test in Dharamsala. The BCCI Medical Team is closely monitoring him and coordinating with specialists in London for further management of his issue,” the Board said in a release.

Meanwhile Bumrah, who was released from the squad for the fourth Test in Ranchi in line with the team’s workload management policy, will link up with the squad in Dharamsala for the final Test, beginning March 7.

India have already taken an unassailable 3-1 lead, following the victory in the fourth Test in Ranchi.

Rahul’s absence from the final Test means Rajat Patidar remained with the squad but the MP batter can’t be sure of his place in the playing eleven, having aggregated only 63 runs in six innings.

All-rounder Washington Sundar has also been released from the squad.

“He will join Tamil Nadu — his Ranji Trophy side — for their Ranji Trophy semifinal fixture against Mumbai, starting March 2, 2024. He will join the India squad after the completion of the domestic fixture for the fifth Test, if need be,” the BCCI said.

Rahul needs to be fully fit before the IPL where he will lead Lucknow Super Giants and is expected to bat in the middle order to bolster his chances of making the India squad for the T20 World Cup in the USA and the Caribbean.

It is the same quadriceps injury that had sidelined Rahul for almost four months last year.

Having got injured during the IPL, Rahul returned to action during the Asia Cup in September last and made instant impact. In the Test tour of South Africa last year, Rahul was the only century-maker for India in the drawn series.

The BCCI also said senior pacer Mohammed Shami is recovering well after undergoing a surgery on February 26 for his right heel problem.

“He is recovering well and will soon head to the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru to commence his rehabilitation process,” the Board said of Shami.

India’s updated squad for fifth Test

Rohit Sharma (C), Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel (WK), KS Bharat (WK), Devdutt Padikkal, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Akash Deep.