🏏IPL 2024: Match 44 - LSG vs RR in Lucknow @ 7:30PM IST🏏

🏏IPL 2024: Match 44 - LSG vs RR in Lucknow on 27/04/2024 @ 7:30PM IST🏏

Table-toppers Rajasthan Royals have so far been in brilliant form in the ongoing season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. In their next match, RR will be up against Lucknow Super Giants at the Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow on Saturday, April 27

The focus will be on the return of pace-sensation Mayank Yadav's return to Lucknow Super Giants' Playing 11 when KL Rahul's men host table-toppers Rajasthan Royals (RR) at Ekana Stadium in Lucknow today (April 27). After impressing many and knocking batters out with his supreme pace, Mayank missed quite a few games and his return is the most anticipated one.

However, on the eve of the match, LSG's assistant coach Sridharan Sriram choose not to talk about his return to LSG Playing, stating he's pretty close" to coming back.

[Tag Credit: Sutapasima]

Big picture

Form is a fickle thing in T20, but if there's such a thing, LSG and RR are the two form teams of IPL 2024, the only two with two or more wins in a row leading up to their meeting in Lucknow. Both teams sit in the top four at the moment, and RR, who already have 14 points, could have one foot in the playoffs if they win on Saturday night.

This is a contest between broadly similar teams: both have strong top orders and occasionally get into a muddle with middle-order roles, and both have excellent attacks with plenty of variety. It's hard to pick a favourite. LSG have won three of their four home games so far this season, but RR are perfectly equipped to compete on whatever surface Ekana throws up, whether it's slow and low black soil or true, bouncy red.

Both teams are looking ominous if you go by the metric of key players finding form midway through the season. Yashasvi Jaiswal did so with a match-winning century in RR's most recent game, against Mumbai Indians on April 22, and Marcus Stoinis matched him in LSG's most recent game, against Chennai Super Kings on April 23.

Everything points to a tight and tactically interesting contest, and if you need anything else to whet your appetite, there's the prospect of Mayank Yadav returning to action.

Previous meeting

Both teams were playing their first match of IPL 2024 when they met in Jaipur on March 24. An unbeaten 82 from Sanju Samson led Royals to a total of 193, and LSG were in the hunt thanks to half-centuries from KL Rahul and Nicholas Pooran. It came down to a gettable 65 from 36 balls with both of them at the crease, but a terrific end-overs display led by Sandeep Sharma sealed a 20-run win for Royals.

Lucknow Super Giants

Mayank Yadav, who has missed LSG's last four matches with an abdominal issue, bowled in the nets in the lead-up to Saturday's game. S Sriram, the team's assistant coach, said Mayank is "pretty close" to a comeback. If he returns, Yash Thakur could make way for him. LSG have not used M Siddharth's left-arm spin in recent games, but he remains an interesting option to come off the subs bench and take the new ball if needed.

Likely XII 1 Quinton de Kock, 2 KL Rahul (capt & wk), 3 Marcus Stoinis, 4 Devdutt Padikkal, 5 Nicholas Pooran, 6 Deepak Hooda, 7 Ayush Badoni, 8 Krunal Pandya, 9 Matt Henry, 10 Ravi Bishnoi, 11 Mohsin Khan, 12 Mayank Yadav/Yash Thakur.

Rajasthan Royals

Sandeep Sharma returned from injury and took match-turning figures of 5 for 18 in RR's last match, against Mumbai Indians. He is likely to keep his place and share the new ball with Trent Boult. If a black-soil pitch is rolled out in Lucknow, there is a chance Royals could bring in Keshav Maharaj as their third spinner.

Likely XII: 1 Yashasvi Jaiswal, 2 Jos Buttler, 3 Sanju Samson (capt & wk), 4 Riyan Parag, 5 Shimron Hetmyer, 6 Rovman Powell, 7 Dhruv Jurel, 8 R Ashwin, 9 Trent Boult, 10 Avesh Khan, 11 Sandeep Sharma, 12 Yuzvendra Chahal.

supporting RR today

In the spotlight

Quinton de Kock has had a quiet IPL by his standards. He averages just 28.50 after eight innings, and while he's made three fifties, all of them have come at strike rates below 145. LSG would love it if he found some of his old fluency, but the RR attack may present him a stern test: he has T20 strike rates of below 125 against all their key bowlers - Boult, Sandeep, Yuzvendra Chahal and R Ashwin.

He's taken just one wicket in seven matches this season, at an average of 240.00, but R Ashwin will tell you (as he has on his YouTube channel) that wicket-taking is becoming irrelevant in T20. He may be right on one hand, since his economy rate (8.88) is nearly identical to that of Yuzvendra Chahal (8.83), who happens to have taken 13 wickets this season. What is different and possibly worrying is that Ashwin hasn't tied left-hand batters down to his usual extent: his economy rate of 8.68 against left-handers is his worst of any IPL season. LSG could have de Kock, Nicholas Pooran, Krunal Pandya and possibly Devdutt Padikkal in their top eight; can Ashwin dominate his favourite match-up like he's done for so many years?

Pitch and conditions

Red soil or black soil? It's the question to ask in the lead-up to every game in Lucknow, and it's a potentially tricky one for the home side ahead of this game. LSG love controlling games with their spinners on black-soil pitches, but Royals come here with one of the best spin attacks in the competition.

Stats that matter

• Royals have won three of their four matches against LSG so far. The two teams have never met in Lucknow, however.

• Mayank Yadav has the best middle-overs economy rate (5.00) and average (7.00) of any bowler in IPL 2024 (minimum 30 balls bowled in that phase).

• Sanju Samson is five hits away from becoming the 10th member of the 200 sixes club in the IPL.

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