LSG v KKR: IPL MATCH 53 PREVIEW

Lucknow are almost knocking on the doors of playoffs with 14 points and a win against KKR they'll have their one foot in the last 4. KKR on the other hand can't afford to lose any of their games and need 4/4 wins to have a chance finish in top 4. KKR had a solid start to their campaign by winning 3 out of the 1st 4 games but ended up losing 5 consecutive games on the trott. A 7 wkt victory over Rajasthan has given their campaign some hope but the task ahead is daunting and impossible given the resources they have at the disposal. KKR have tried 5-6 opening combinations and we could see another new opening pair taking guard on Saturday. KKR have lost 20 wkts in PP which is most by any side in this season. Middle order looks better with the likes of Rana & Rinku Singh coming good in the last few games. Sunil Narine has been a lone bright spot in the middle overs. He hasn't conceded runs in excess of 6 rpo in 8 games and his worst outing was 0/31 in 4 overs.

Just like KKR, LSG too won 3 out of their 1st 4 games. They too faltered against RR & RCB but came by strong by defeating MI twice, PBKS & DC. LSG did an amazing job in the auctions by banking on all rounders and hence they have 9 bowling options in the 11. Pace department has come good in absence of Avesh Khan with Chameera, Mohsin and Holder bowling brilliantly in different phases of the game. LSG have just 1 chink in their armour and thats a stable no 3 in the batting department. Ewin Lewis could make way for Marcus Stoinis.

Probable XI

Kolkata Knight Riders

Aaron Finch/Sam Billings, Baba Indrajith(wk), Shreyas Iyer (c), Nitish Rana, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Anukul Roy, Tim Southee, Umesh Yadav, Shivam Mavi

Lucknow Super Giants

KL Rahul (c), Quinton de Kock (wk), Deepak Hooda, Marcus Stoinis, Ayush Badoni, Krunal Pandya, Jason Holder, Dushmantha Chameera, Mohsin Khan, Avesh Khan/K Gowtham, Ravi Bishnoi

Venue

MCA Stadium, Pune

-Average 1st innings total : 170
- Average 1st innings total in 2022: 173.2
-Average 1st innings winning total: 183.2

-Highest total: 211/4 - CSK vs DC
-Lowest total: 73 - PBKS vs RPSG

-Teams batting 1st: Have won 25 matches
-Teams batting 2nd: Have won 23 matches

Record at MCA Stadium, Pune

LSG: Played 1, Won -1, Lost -1
KKR: Played 7, Won -7, Lost -0

Match Ups

KL v Narine: 97/2 at 164 sr
KL v Southee: 116/2 at 128 sr
KL v Umesh: 62/1 at 126 sr

QDK v Russell: 47/2 at 213 sr
QDK v Umesh: 41/1 at 157 sr

Rana v Stoinis: 68/2 at 147 sr
Hooda v Narine: 19/2 at 95 sr
Krunal v Narine: 24/2 at 109 sr
Stoinis v Russell: 0/2

Form Update
(last 5 innings)

Key Players & Fantasy Picks

Captain/ Vice Captain

Andre Russell: The 2 time MVP of the IPL was quiet with the bat in the past 2 seasons but he displayed a scintillating show of power hitting against PBKS and yet again proved why he is one of the most dangerous players in t20 cricket. He scored 49 in the game against SRH, and another 40 odd vs GT and is also contributing with the ball by bowling atleast 2 overs in every game. he took 4 wkts in the last over against GT game. Russell strikes at 209 at the death with 74 sixes. He has hit 22 sixes so far.

KL Rahul: 2999 runs at a SR of 140. No one has scored more runs than him since 2018. KL has put consistent 500+ runs seasons for 4 times in a row and is on his way to reach the 500 runs mark for the 5th time in a row. He is the 2nd highest run scorer of the season with 451 runs at 56.5 avg and 145 sr with 2 100s.

Jason Holder/Nitish Rana: One of the most improved t20 cricketers in the recent times. Holder adds immense value to this Lucknow side both with the bat and the ball. He has taken 9 wkts at an eco of 9 and all the wkts have come in the middle and the death overs. Rana has scored 179 runs at a SR of 145 in his last 5 innings

Budget Pick:
(Fantasy rating: 8.5)

Sunil Narine: 0/15, 1/12, 1/23, 0/26, 2/21, 0/23, 2/21, 0/31, 1/19, 0/19, are his spells in the 10 games so far with a dot % of 40 and an economy of 5.3

Krunal Pandya: He has the best economy rate in this season after Sunil Narine.

Wild Card

Mohsin Khan has 8 wkts in last 4 games and he could well cause trouble for the KKR batters with his hit the deck style of bowling.

Prediction: Winners - LSG.

Fanatsy XI