RHODRI EVANS: The Cricketer takes a look at the next fixture in the 2022 Indian Premier League season
Lucknow Super Giants face Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League.
The game will be played on Tuesday, May 10. The first ball will be bowled at 7.30pm local time (3pm GMT).
The game will be held at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune.
In this top of the table clash, both of the IPL’s new teams come into this fixture needing a win to confirm their place in the play-offs.
Lucknow Super Giants have won their last four, including a 75-run thrashing of KKR last time out so have the advantage over Gujarat Titans, who had won eight of their first nine games but have lost their last two to strugglers Mumbai Indians and Punjab Kings. Have the Titans been found out? The last few matches of the league phase will show us if they have been.
LSG’s strength also lies in their bowling – Chameera has had an excellent IPL campaign, and together with Jason Holder, Krunal Pandya, and Ravi Bishnoi, form a formidable bowling attack that matched up nicely with the Knight Riders’ power hitters.
Super Giants find themselves comfortably in the qualification places and will be looking to cement their place in the playoffs with a win in this one.
A Tim David-inspired Mumbai Indians beat Gujarat in their last game. The loss of form of David Miller and Rahul Tewatia will be a concern for GT going forward. Those two are their finishers and were key to winning matches earlier in the tournament.
The inconsistency of their middle-order batting has been the only question mark for GT going into the final stages.
Jason Holder (BCCI)
Rahul has scored two hundreds and been out for two ducks this season so the Rahul v Shami battle will be key to this one. Lucknow’s hitting at the death has stuttered this season and Rashid Khan will be confident he can keep the runs down at the key time in the LSG innings.
Chameera going up against the in-form Shubman Gill will also be a keen contest at the top of the innings. The powerplays can often swing the momentum to one side or the other and in this game in particular they will be key.
The key to the Titans’ success this season has been the platform that Gill, Saha, and captain Pandya have given the middle order, so much so that the likes of David Miller and Rahul Tewatia have not been tasked with anything more strenuous than some late order hitting in recent matches.
Matches played: 1
Lucknow Super Giants wins: 0
Gujarat Titans wins: 1
A warm day is expected in Pune, with highs of 38 degrees Celsius, falling to 30 degrees by the first ball of the match.
Lucknow Super Giants: KL Rahul, Marcus Stoinis, Ravi Bishnoi, Quinton de Kock, Manish Pandey, Jason Holder, Deepak Hooda, Krunal Pandya, Andrew Tye, Avesh Khan, Ankit Rajpoot, K Gowtham, Dushmanta Chameera, Shahbaz Nadeem, Manan Vohra, Mohsin Khan, Ayush Badoni, Kyle Mayers, Karan Sharma, Evin Lewis, Mayank Yadav, B Sai Sudharsan
Gujarat Titans: Hardik Pandya, Shubman Gill, Rashid Khan, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Mohammad Shami, Lockie Ferguson, Abhinav Sadarangani, Rahul Tewatia, Noor Ahmad, R Sai Kishore, Dominic Drakes, Jayant Yadav, Vijay Shankar, Darshan Nalkande, Yash Dayal, Alzarri Joseph, Prandeep Sangwan, David Miller, Wriddhiman Saha, Matthew Wade, Gurkeerat Singh, Varun Aaron
Titans captain Hardik Pandya (BCCI)
Lucknow Super Giants: Quinton de Kock, KL Rahul, Manish Pandey, Marcus Stoinis, Krunal Pandya, Deepak Hooda, Ayush Badoni, Jason Holder, Dushmantha Chameera, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohsin Khan
Gujarat Titans: Wriddhiman Saha, Shubman Gill, Hardik Pandya, David Miller, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Abhinav Manohar, Lockie Ferguson, Alzarri Joseph, Yash Dayal, Mohammed Shami.
The bookies make Gujarat Titans favourites for this match with 10/11 odds. LSG are evens (1/1) to win tomorrow.
The bookies make GT favourites, and while they have probably been the best team in the competition so far, Lucknow have the form on their side. De Kock and Rahul are as good an opening combination as you will find in T20 cricket and their bowling attack is stellar. A close contest awaits.
In the UK, Sky Sports have exclusive rights to this year's tournament, with matches available on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Cricket.
Fans in India can watch all of the action on Star Sports.
Elsewhere in the world, viewers in Australia can watch the IPL on Fox Sports while in New Zealand, Sky Sport will provide coverage.
Willow TV and Flow Sports will broadcast the tournament in the United States and the Caribbean, respectively.
Fans in MENA can catch the action on beIN Sports while in South Africa, SuperSport have the rights.
The IPL can also be streamed on Disney+ and Hotstar in certain areas.
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