IPL 2023 LSG vs SRH Preview - Return of the South Africans

Key match stats

Pitch Stats – Ekana Cricket Stadium

Average first innings score: 193
Average first innings winning score: 193
Average powerplay score: 39
Win % batting 1st vs batting 2nd: 100% / 0%

Team form LSG vs SRH

LSG: LW
SRH: L

Recent meetings: IPL 2022 - LSG won by 12 runs

Preview LSG vs SRH

Both sides gave very poor performances in the field in their last matches and will be hoping to improve this time out.

Lucknow's match against CSK turned into a Dog Day Afternoon when a four legged friend invaded the pitch and delayed the start of the game. All joking aside, it did feel like LSG had lost their focus while the dog was being chased in circles by dozens of security guards, resulting in a sloppy first few overs which Chennai took full advantage of and controlled the game from there on in.

Sunrisers can't blame their poor start on the animal kingdom. Rajasthan simply blew them out of the water in both respective powerplays. Perhaps the most worrying observation from that match is that SRH didn't seem to understand how to bowl effectively on their own pitch! The Rajiv Gandhi offered a bit of grip to help the spinners and quicker bowlers when they bowled their cutters but by the time SRH had reached that conclusion, the Royals were so far out in front that it was irrelevant.

The pitch at the Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow did look a little two paced at times during the match against DC here at the weekend. Certainly the 193 that LSG scored in their first innings appeared over par and you have to remember that Lucknow crawled to just 30 during the powerplay in that match. We'll have to wait to see how IPL records at the Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow develop over the tournament.

LSG have a selection conundrum now that Quinton de Kock is available. In his absence, Kyle Mayers have been arguably the stand out player of the IPL so far. He has 126 runs in the tournament, second only to Gaikwad at the time of writing and of course he's bowled some useful overs too.

Marcus Stoinis has scored just 33 runs so far this season and by contrast is yet to bowl. He may end up being the man to make way if LSG want to bring de Kock straight in and keep Mayers in the team. QdK may also take the keeping gloves from Nicolas Pooran who wasn't particularly impressive behind the stumps during the defeat at the Chepauk.

Bowling wise LSG choose to leave out Unadkat for the game in Chennai and gave Yash Thakur an IPL debut. The youngster looked impressive, keeping his head while carnage rained around him and showing a good variety of skills.

SRH will welcome back their South African contingent for this match which includes captain Aiden Markram, Marco Jansen and Heinrich Klassen. It's not impossible that all 3 might come straight into the team for this game. SRH also have a decision to make over their keeping options with Glenn Phillips at best a part time keeper having been given the nod in their opening game.

LSG vs SRH head to head

SRH bowling vs LSG batting

If LSG do decide to come into this match with a top 3 of KL Rahul, QdK and Kyle Mayers then SRH may decide to introduce Washington Sundar in the powerplay. His match-up against the 2 left-handers would be an obvious advantage (QdK career T20 ave vs right-arm finger spin is 29, S/R 112, Mayers career T20 ave vs right-arm finger spin is 21, S/R 98) while unlike when he bowled against Buttler in the powerplay during the opening match, KL Rahul is far less likely to take him on with such devastating effect.

KL Rahul stats vs right-arm finger spin in the powerplay since 2021

In fact, since the start of 2021, KL Rahul is only scoring at just over a run a ball against right-arm finger spin in the powerplay so while it might not be a great wicket taking option, it could certainly limit Lucknow's scoring while the field restrictions are in place.

LSG were criticised for their batting order in the chase against CSK. I actually thought the decision to bring Hooda in at 3 was the right call in order to try to nullify Moeen Ali's impact, it made less sense to promote Stoinis in ahead of Pooran. Pooran and Hooda's role in the side is to take on the slower bowlers.

Stoinis has proved fairly ineffective against spinners throughout his career. His role is to hit quick bowling at the death. If he plays today, don't expect to see him come to the crease until Adil Rashid has finished his overs. You've got more chance of seeing Marcus Stoinis pick his nose than picking Rashid's googly. Rashid has dismissed him in 3 of the last 6 T20 internationals they've both played in.

Adil Rashid vs Pooran T20 head to head

The man charged with taking on wrist-spinners in this Lucknow side is likely to be Pooran who has a career T20 average of 42 and strikes at 155 against the leggies. However, he has struggled in previous meetings against Adil Rashid.

LSG bowling vs SRH batting

In reality, Sunrisers had already lost their opening game of IPL 2023 inside the first over of their reply to Rajasthan. They'll want significantly more from their top order so that they can lay a platform for what looks on paper to be a good engine room. Similarly, LSG will want more from Avesh Khan too who has bowled 3 powerplay overs to date for no wickets and 30 runs.

Avesh Khan vs Agarwal T20 head to head

If LSG can strike early then you'd imagine that they'll try and get Krunal Pandya into the attack asap. Not only do SRH have a right-hand heavy middle order but some of their batsmen, including Rahul Tripathi, have a truly awful record against the left-armer. Perhaps trying to slog sweep Pandya is something Tripathi should look to avoid in this game ...

Pandya vs Tripathi previous IPL dismissals

Logically, you might think that the way for SRH to prevent negative match-ups against left-arm slow bowling would be to use Washington Sundar as a floating option in the middle order. However, his record to date in T20 cricket suggests he might not be the man for that particular role so we'll need to wait and see whether sides target SRH in that manner and which batsmen can meet that challenge.

Washington Sundar T20 batting stats vs slow left-arm bowling

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All stats used in this blog are from my own databases which are freely accessible below
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