🏏IPL 2023: Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Lucknow Super Giants,58th Match 🏏

I was never coached; I was never told how to hold a bat. Every ball went exactly where I wanted it to go until the ball that got me out.--Donald Bradman

🏏IPL 2023: Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Lucknow Super Giants, 58th Match 🏏

Tag & Logo Credit: Sevenstreaks

In what has to be the most competitive IPL season ever, we've gone past 80 percent of the league stages with all ten teams still in the playoffs race.

Apart from Gujarat Titans, the rest of the teams find themselves in a hustle for the playoff spots. Two such sides, at extreme ends in terms of form and momentum, are set to face-off with the loser likely to be on the brink of elimination.

Sunrisers Hyderabad is currently placed at 9th place on the points table of this season of IPL whereas LSG is currently placed at the 5th spot on the points table.

These two teams have played a couple of games against each other in the history of IPL so far, where Sunrisers Hyderabad managed to lose both the games while LSG won all the matches.

The last time they played against each other this season, LSG beat SRH by 5 wickets.

SRH played 10 games in this season of the IPL where they managed to win just four matches while LSG also played 11 matches in this season where they have also won just five games.

SRH would be looking to redeem itself from the earlier loss. The Hyderabad side got a phenomenal win and will be high on confidence. They don’t have any injury concerns and more of the same team is expected in the upcoming match.

But even if they decide to make one change, Mayank Agarwal can make a return to the side, replacing Anmolpreet Singh.

LSG has lost a couple of games out of their last three matches, and one in between those two games got washed out. Krunal Pandya has taken over the captaincy after KL Rahul got injured but is yet to taste a win.

LSG made four changes last match and may resort to making more changes. The departure of KL Rahul and Jaydev Unadkat has hampered their balance at a crucial time, and they need to find the right mix of personnel in the team.

SRH vs LSG Predicted Playing XII

LSG Playing XI

Ayush Badoni, Kyle Mayers, Quinton De Kock, Deepak Hooda, Krunal Pandya, Nicholas Pooran/ Marcus Stoinis, Avesh Khan, Amit Mishra, Mark Wood, Yash Thakur, Ravi Bishnoi

SRH Playing XI

Mayank Agarwal, Harry Brook, Rahul Tripathi, Aiden Markram, Abhishek Sharma, Heinrich Klaasen, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Marco Jansen, Mayank Markande, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umran Malik

Ayush Badoni was the game changer against Chennai as he took the bowlers on despite wickets falling at the other end. He batted really well on a slow track and is proving to be an impact player in the middle order for the Lucknow Super Giants

Mayank Agarwal has disappointed this season. Seen as a reliable opener, the runs have not been coming his way and that has played a huge part in Hyderabad’s struggles. With questions likely to be asked, Agarwal’s upcoming games are going to be crucial as he looks to maintain his spot in the side, with Abhishek Sharma creeping up.

Sunrisers are still alive after a strong win against the Royals, and that win in a thrilling encounter should give them a lot of momentum coming into the upcoming encounter.

Lucknow Super Giants started the season on a high with four wins from their first six games but have lost steam since then. They're currenly on a four-match winless streak that includes three losses and a no result. Losing regular captain KL Rahul to injury has not helped and they are a side that look vulnerable at the moment, despite all the ammunition that they still have in their squad.

Sunrisers Hyderabad are relatively in a better space mentally. They endured five losses from their first seven games but have won two of their last three games, including an astounding heist against Rajasthan Royals. Tactically and in terms of their playing XIs, SRH have often lost the plot but as things stand, their fate is still in their own hands.

LSG have most bases covered and look a well-rounded side although it remains to be seen how much Rahul's absence dents them as the batting unit now lacks that solidity that he brings at the top. There is immense firepower though and this coupled with a solid bowling unit makes Lucknow a very tricky opposition to face.

SRH are overseas-heavy when it comes to their batting department but the likes of Rahul Tripathi and Abhishek Sharma have shown their presence as well. Surprisingly, the bowling hasn't hit its strap as consistently as they would have liked and against an imposing LSG batting line-up, the hosts have their task cut out. Two desperate sides gunning for survival - it doesn't get better than this.

Thanks for the tag and thread, Madz!❤️

What to expect: It's been a hot few days in Hyderabad and that's likely to continue across the weekend with Saturday afternoon expected to be no different. Surfaces here have been had mixed results this season. While the average score batting first is approximately 171, two of the five games saw scores under 150. This will be only the second day game of the season and the previous match, which was also the opening game here, saw Rajasthan make 203. Another decent batting surface should be in the offing, although it could be a tad slower with all the cricket played and the heat factor.

Thanks for the Tag 💛

LSG FTW 🥳

Tactics & Match-ups: Bhuvneshwar Kumar could hold the aces at the start for SRH as he has always had the explosive Quinton de Kock on a tight leash in the IPL. The South African hasn't lost his wicket to Bhuvneshwar but has managed to score 49 runs off 52 balls he's faced from him.

Early bowling duty for Krunal Pandya could be on the cards. He has bowled 30 balls to Rahul Tripathi in the IPL, dismissing him twice and giving away just 28 runs. He has also dismissed Aiden Markram twice in seven deliveries.

What they said:

"We gave too many runs in the first innings. When it's 227, you have to go hard every over. The surface played really well. The batters said it was a good wicket to bat on. Had we restricted them to 200-210, we would have had a chance." - Krunal Pandya, after their loss to Gujarat Titans four days ago.

"This [finish against RR] will give a lot of belief in guys like Samad. Samad would've felt that he missed out on a couple of times. To have done it here, the next time he comes to bat and the next time he's in a situation like this, he'll be a lot different." - SRH's batting coach Hemang Badani on the incredible win over RR

Thank you for the tag 😊