The State of Play
IPL 2024 leaders Rajasthan Royals will seek an eighth win from nine when they meet Lucknow Super Giants on Saturday, entering on a run of three consecutive victories following their nine-wicket defeat of Mumbai Indians on Monday.
Yasahvi Jaiswal’s unbeaten 104 off 60 balls played a pivotal role in their latest triumph, while Riyan Parag has amassed 318 and captain Sanju Samson is four behind his total.
Sandeep Sharma was the player of the match, though, courtesy of bowling figures of 5/18, while Yuzvendra Chahal has 13 wickets.
Samson is RR’s top batsman against LSG, scoring 129 in four appearances. Trent Boult’s involvement could also worry the hosts, having taken seven wickets in four games against them.
Read our other sports news stories here:
Ten Hag demands more of Rashford
We were totally in control, says Ten Hag after Sheffield United win
Rashford says ‘enough is enough’ after abuse
Justin Langer’s side, too, are on a high after winning their last two matches, beating Chennai Super Kings by six wickets on Tuesday, when Marcus Stoinis scored an unbeaten 124.
Stoinis’ scintillating showing allowed LSG to overcome the departures of Quinton de Kock and KL Rahul for a combined 16, but Langer will not want to depend on the rest of his batting line-up – or a huge score from Stoinis – making up for another poor performance by his openers.
Mayank Yadav, who has taken six wickets in three appearances, could return from an abdominal strain after bowling coach Morne Morkel confirmed the pacer is close to a comeback.
LSG are fourth in the table with five wins from three matches, starting the weekend level on points with second-placed Kolkata Knight Riders and Sunrisers Hyderabad immediately above them.
Last time out vs 🩷 pic.twitter.com/vziCJYH0sS
— Lucknow Super Giants (@LucknowIPL) April 25, 2024
18+ Gambling Can Be Addictive. Please Play Responsibly. BeGambleAware GamStop Gambling Commission
Expected line-ups
Lucknow Super Giants: Quinton de Kock, KL Rahul (wk, c), Marcus Stoinis, Nicholas Pooran, Deepak Hooda, Ayush Badoni, Krunal Pandya, Mohsin Khan, Matt Henry, Yash Thakur, Ravi Bishnoi
Rajasthan Royals: Jos Buttler, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson (wk, c), Riyan Parag, Shimron Hetmyer, Dhruv Jurel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Sandeep Sharma, Avesh Khan, Trent Boult, Yuzvendra Chahal
T-1 Energy 🔥 pic.twitter.com/XAnDRIv2aR
— Rajasthan Royals (@rajasthanroyals) April 26, 2024
How to watch
Sky have the rights to show the IPL to UK viewers in 2024 and will broadcast every game live. Saturday’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.
Prediction
RR won by 20 runs when these teams met in March and their form justifies their status as favourites to prevail again, especially if Samson can come close to his knock of 82 off 52 deliveries on that occasion.
Nicholas Pooran reached 64 off 41 that day, and his performance could be crucial to LSG’s hopes. The Trinidadian’s 280 runs put him second only to Rahul’s 302 this season.
