Punjab Kings v Lucknow Super Giants: IPL 2022 match preview

The Cricketer takes a look at the next fixture in the 2022 Indian Premier League season

What's the match?

Punjab Kings take on Lucknow Super Giants in the Indian Premier League.

When is it taking place?

The match will be played on Friday, April 29 with the first ball will be bowled at 7:30pm local time (3:30pm GMT).

Where is the match being played?

It will be held at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune.

Who's got the form?

Both sides won their most recent IPL matches thanks to star turns from their senior opening batters.

Punjab Kings beat CSK on April 25 thanks to a knock of 88 not out from Shikhar Dhawan and some miserly fast bowling by Kagiso Rabada and Arshdeep Singh. Singh, especially, is making a name for himself as a specialist death bowler and has been handed a key role in Kings’ attack this season.

LSG captain KL Rahul continued his excellent IPL with his second hundred of the season. Only Rahul and Buttler have scored tons in the IPL and share five between them. Rahul’s lone hand was enough for his side to overcome a struggling Mumbai Indians team but he will need his teammates to step up if they are to win this match.

LSG’s strength lies in their bowling – Chameera has had an excellent IPL campaign, and together with Jason Holder, Krunal Pandya, and Ravi Bishnoi, forms a formidable bowling attack that will match-up nicely with Punjab’s power hitters.

Lucknow Super Giants find themselves in the qualification places on net run rate and will be looking to cement their place win a win in this one. Punjab are outside looking in and a win for Mayank Agarwal’s side will put them level on points with LSG, Sunrisers Hyderabad, and RCB as the fight for qualification tightens further.

^{KL Rahul}

What's the key match-up?

Rahul has scored two hundreds and been out for two ducks this season so the KL Rahul versus Kagiso Rabada battle will be key to this one. Lucknow’s hitting at the death has stuttered this season and Arshdeep Singh will be confident he can keep the runs down at the key time in the LSG innings.

The Kings’ gung-ho approach to batting plays into the hands of their cadre of overseas batters: Liam Livingston, Jonny Bairstow, and Bhanuka Rajapaksa all have the potential to play a destructive and match-winning innings for their side. With that in mind, Ravi Bishnoi, India’s next great wrist spinner, will have his work cut out in this match

Head-to-head record

Matches played: 0

Punjab Kings wins: 0

Lucknow Super Giants wins: 0

No results: 0

What's the weather forecast?

A warm day is expected in Pune, with highs of 41 degrees Celsius, falling to 35 degrees by first ball of the match.

What are the squads?

Punjab Kings: Mayank Agarwal, Arshdeep Singh, Shikhar Dhawan, Kagiso Rabada, Jonny Bairstow, Rahul Chahar, Shahrukh Khan, Harpreet Brar, Prabhsimran Singh, Jitesh Sharma, Ishan Porel, Liam Livingstone, Odean Smith, Sandeep Sharma, Raj Bawa, Rishi Dhawan, Prerak Mankad, Vaibhav Arora, Writtick Chatterjee, Baltej Dhanda, Ansh Patel, Nathan Ellis, Atharva Taide, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Benny Howell

Lucknow Super Giants: KL Rahul, Marcus Stoinis, Ravi Bishnoi, Quinton de Kock, Manish Pandey, Jason Holder, Deepak Hooda, Krunal Pandya, Mark Wood (injured/replaced by 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

What are the possible starting XIs?

Punjab Kings: Mayank Agarwal, Shikhar Dhawan, Bhanuka Pajapaksa, Liam Livingstone, Jonny Bairstow, Jitesh Sharma, Rishi Dhawan, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar, Arshdeep Singh, Sandeep Sharma

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

^{Shihkar Dhawan}

What are the odds?

The bookies make LSG favourites for this match with 4/5 odds. Kings are evens (1/1) to win tomorrow.

What's the prediction?

The bookies make the favourites but this writer believes in PBKS’ approach and also that they will come up on top in this match. Lucknow’s batting has been weak, with Stoinis and de Kock out of form – getting Rahul out early is the key for Punjab

Where can I watch the game?

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.