Two teams with contrasting journeys so far meet on the 12th of April as the Lucknow Supergiants host the Delhi Capitals at the Ekana Stadium. Delhi are yet to get the better of Rahul’s men in the past couple of years and they would require to break this streak to move past the 10th spot.
Lucknow Supergiants:
Having made the playoffs in both of their first 2 seasons, the men from UP look favourites to continue this streak, winning 3 out of their first 4 games. Possessing one of the best batters of the format currently, Nicholas Pooran has been ably supported by De Kock and the lower order in putting up par/above-par totals and they have been backed by their all-round bowling department. The new pace sensation Mayank Yadav has garnered the maximum attention but seasoned campaigner Krunal Pandya has been the MVP of this side, contributing with both bat and bowl.
Delhi Capitals:
With a name change from the Daredevils to the Capitals, it seemed that the Delhi franchise was here to finally compete, reaching the playoffs 3 out of their first 3 years in their year. However, they failed to replicate it in 2022 and 2023 and this year seems to be a new-low, with Pant’s men languishing at the 10th spot. Batting hasn’t been an issue, with the team scoring an average of 182 runs in their 5 matches so far but the bowling has been an issue. Spin duo of Axar-Kuldeep looked good but the latter's injury has destroyed the balance of the 0-times finalist side. To make matters worse, premier pacer Nortje has leaked runs at an economy of 13.44 with him conceding 20+ runs in each of 4th overs so far.
Playing XI:
Lucknow Super Giants:
- KL Rahul (C & WK)
- Quinton De Kock
- Devdutt Padikkal
- Nicholas Pooran
- Ayush Badoni
- Marcus Stoinis
- Krunal Pandya
- Ravi Bishnoi
- Yash Thakur
- Naveen Ul Haq
- Manimaran Siddharth
Impact Player: Mayank Yadav/Yudhvir Singh
With things going well, LSG isn't expected to make many changes. Mayank picked up an injury in the game against Gujarat and there is no confirmation on his availability. We might see Yudhvir Singh making his IPL debut as Mayank’s replacement.
Delhi Capitals:
- David Warner
- Prithvi Shaw
- Jake-Fraser McGurk
- Tristan Stubbs
- Rishabh Pant (C &WK)
- Abhishek Porel
- Axar Patel
- Kumar Kushagra
- Ishant Sharma
- Khaleel Ahmed
- Anrich Nortje
Impact Player: Mukesh Kumar
Mukesh Kumar is all set to make his comeback after missing the last few games which will give a major boost to the Delhi side and thus one can also expect McGurk to make his debut owing to the team dynamics.
Playing Conditions:
Ekana was a spin-minefield last season and thus it was a surprise when 350 was scored across both innings in 2024’s first match at Ekana. But things returned to normalcy in the GT vs LSG bout with spinners wrecking havoc from both sides and 163 being defended. Expect a similar trend to continue on the 11th and middle-order batters like Stubbs and Pooran can prove to be the difference between a win and loss for either sides
Interesting Trivia:
- Mayank Yadav is the only player to win back-to-back MOTMs in his first 2 IPL games. Moreover, he already holds the record of bowling the maximum number of deliveries in excess of 150 kmph.
- KL Rahul has scored his IPL runs at a strike rate of 114.78 in the matches held at Ekana.
- Pooran is averaging 178 while scoring at a rate of 169.52 in the ongoing IPL season
MATCH DETAILS:
TIME: 7.30 pm IST
VENUE: Ekana Stadium, Lucknow
LIVE BROADCAST: START SPORTS NETWORK
LIVE STREAMING: JIOCINEMA
Dream XI Team:
