SRH vs LSG Preview: Hyderabad, Lucknow clash for crucial 2 points
Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) collide with Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on Wednesday, May 8.
Sunrisers lost to Mumbai Indians on Monday in a one-sided clash. Pat Cummins and Co. will have to pick themselves up in less than 48 hours and face Lucknow in what will be a crucial clash in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. Lucknow is also coming off a heavy defeat against Kolkata Knight Riders and will look to return to winning ways on Wednesday.
SRH have six wins from 11 outings and are placed at No. 4. Meanwhile, LSG have the same number of wins from their 11 matches but an inferior net run rate (NRR) sees them stationed at No. 5.
For the Orange Army, Travis Head and Heinrich Klaasen have been the stars with the bat. The former is the leading run-getter for the former champions, scoring an impressive 444 runs from 10 games at a resounding strike rate of 189.74. The likes of Abhishek Sharma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, and Shahbaz Ahmed have also played match-winning knocks with the bat. The bowling department has been led by T Natarajan, who has bagged 15 wickets from nine matches at 21.20. The likes of captain Pat Cummins and Bhuvneshwar Kumar have also provided decent support.
Meanwhile, Lucknow’s captain KL Rahul is leading the run-scoring charts for his team. He has accumulated 431 runs at an average of 39.18 and has a strike rate of 141.31. Marcus Stoinis has also played a big role for the franchise with his all-round exploits. Yash Thakur is the leading wicket-taker for LSG this season. He has taken 11 wickets in nine games but has conceded runs at an economy rate of 10.81. On the other hand, Mayank Yadav’s injury status is a big worry for the LSG faithful.
Head to Head
The head-to-head scoreline sees LSG enjoying a clean slate. They have won all three games they have played against the Sunrisers.
Probable Playing XI
Sunrisers Hyderabad: Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Heinrich Klaasen (WK), Abdul Samad, Shahbaz Ahmed, Marco Jansen, Pat Cummins (C), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mayank Markande, Jaydev Unadkat, Impact Sub – T Natarajan
Lucknow Super Giants: KL Rahul (C & WK), Marcus Stoinis, Deepak Hooda, Nicholas Pooran, Ashton Turner, Ayush Badoni, Krunal Pandya, Ravi Bishnoi, Naveen-ul-Haq, Mohsin Khan, Yash Thakur, Impact Sub – Arshin Kulkarni
Pitch Report
The Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium has provided some excellent batting surfaces this season. There has been very little help for the bowlers. Three out of the four games played at this venue in IPL 2024 have been won by teams batting first. The average first innings score is a whopping 213. The team that bats first will have to post a total of over 200 to stay in the game.
