The State of Play
Gujarat Titans fans would have been entitled to expect their team to win after seeing them finish on 199 at home to Punjab Kings on Thursday, only for their bowling to betray them as they lost a thriller by three wickets.
The obvious weak spot which cost GT victory makes the identity of their next opponents particularly dangerous: KL Rahul and Quinton de Kock could severely punish generous bowling at the top of the order for Lucknow, who followed up their 21-run win over PK by beating Royal Challengers Bangalore by 28 runs on Tuesday.
Pace bowler Mayank Yadav took three wickets for a mere 27 runs against Punjab and repeated the trick at the cost of 14 runs as the 21-year-old claimed successive player of the match awards.
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Shubman Gill also punished Punjab for GT, hitting an unbeaten 89 off 48 balls to show that his new responsibilities have not unduly affected his form despite his side’s mixed start to campaigning under his captaincy.
LSG have a dreadful record in the fixture, losing all four of the contests between the teams – and their incentive to pick up a hat-trick of wins will be enhanced by the opportunity to cement themselves in the early top four of the IPL.
Rahul is 17 runs off 1,000 runs for them in the IPL, and Nicholas Pooran’s 146 runs from three appearances have given the Trinidadian a strike rate of more than 175.
De Kock – who is set to become the IPL’s fourth South African appearance centurion – is seeking a third consecutive knock of more than 50, having reached 81 off 56 deliveries against RCB.
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Expected line-ups
Lucknow Super Giants: Quinton de Kock, KL Rahul (wk, c), Devdutt Padikkal, Marcus Stoinis, Nicholas Pooran, Ayush Badoni, Krunal Pandya, Ravi Bishnoi, Yash Thakur, Naveen-ul-Haq, Mayank Yadav
Gujarat Titans: Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Shubman Gill (c), Sai Sudharsan, Kane Williamson, Vijay Shankar, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Noor Ahmad, Umesh Yadav, Darshan Nalkande
Matchday -1 🗿🔥 pic.twitter.com/8215gtAn4i
— Lucknow Super Giants (@LucknowIPL) April 6, 2024
How to watch
Sky have the rights to show the IPL to UK viewers in 2024 and will broadcast every game live.
Sunday’s match will be shown on Sky Sports Cricket from 2.50pm BST.
In India, the games can be streamed on the Jio Cinema app and website. They are also available across the Star Sports Network.
Leading the charge!⚡️#AavaDe | #GTKarshe | #TATAIPL2024 pic.twitter.com/sYgKU1vKjM
— Gujarat Titans (@gujarat_titans) April 5, 2024
Prediction
With both teams poised in midtable, this looks a keenly balanced game which could depend on players lower down the order shifting gear, such as Lucknow’s Marcus Stoinis and the Titans’ B Sai Sudharsan.
GT are likely to be reliant on Mohit Sharma, who shone on his way to three wickets for 25 runs in their seven-wicket win over Sunrisers Hyderabad on March 31.
The likes of Rashid Khan and Azmatullah Omarzai have a vital role to play in supporting Sharma. If they can’t, expect Lucknow to capitalise in a tight showdown.
