Lucknow Super Giants and KL Rahul will be hoping that home comfort at the Ekana stadium will hand them their first win of the season as Punjab Kings come visiting on March 30, Saturday. Both teams will be looking to bounce back from defeats in their previous matches. It’s Match 11 of the IPL 2024 campaign and Lucknow Super Giants captain KL Rahul will be welcoming his former side, Punjab Kings to the Ekana stadium on March 30.
Both teams are coming into the contest on the back of losses against the Rajasthan Royals and the Royal Challengers Bengaluru respectively and will be looking to get their season back on track. While Punjab do have a win under their belt already, KL Rahul and Co. will be looking to secure their first points of the season.
Previous matches performances for Lucknow and Punjab as KL Rahul shines
Nicholas Pooran and KL Rahul himself looked to be in good nick during the loss to RR but the form of Devdutt Padikkal and Quinton de Kock will be something LSG will have a keen eye on. Punjab also found their batters to be held back against RCB with the likes of Jonny Bairstow and Liam Livingstone searching for consistency.
LSG vs PBKS: Head-to-Head
Both teams have faced three times in the IPL so far, with LSG holding the upper hand over their North Indian rivals with a score of 2-1. The last match between the two sides in Mohali was a high-scoring affair with LSG putting 257 runs on the board in their 20 overs.
PBKS put in a valiant effort but ended being bundled out for 201. However, Punjab would be happy that they did score a win at the Ekana stadium last year and would be hoping to repeat the same feat on Saturday.
LSG vs PBKS: Team News
The big news from the LSG camp and KL Rahul was that Shamar Joseph is set to be not in line for making his debut on March 30 as well. Many felt he could be in the mix during the first game but Langer confirmed that the West Indian pacer would have to wait a bit more.
This means that LSG could be sticking to the same overseas core of De Kock, Pooran, Stoinis and Naveen-ul-Haq for this match as well. Possibly a change could see Deepak Hooda being named in the starting XI, instead of being used as an Impact sub, like he was in the game against RR. With the Kings, sticking to the same playing XI against RCB, it seems like they wouldn’t tinker with things a lot.
LSG vs PBKS: Pitch conditions
LSG won three out of their seven home matches last season. The pitch at the Ekana stadium has been historically a turning track. There was way more turn than normal for T20 games at the venue last season. The kind of pitchers prepared this year will give a clear indication of the tactics of the home team at the venue. Given its history, a score of around 160-170 will be a winning score. The chasing team will need to bat very well to chase totals.
The Ekana Stadium was the worst ground for batters in IPL 2023. The average scoring rate of 6.93 was the lowest among the 10 venues that hosted at least five matches, the balls-per-boundary ratio of 7.7 was the highest, and the bounce was often low especially on black-soil surfaces. How these two high-octane batting line-ups play here will be interesting to watch.
Form and Fitness
Form wise the batters and bowlers from both teams are still getting into their grooves. LSG have played just one match while the Kings have two. Both teams are still looking for their settled playing combination. Fitness-wise, the ECB pulled out Mark Wood from this IPL season as they are monitoring his fitness for the T20 World Cup 2024. Shamar Joseph was called in as a replacement. There are no major injury concerns in the PBKS camp as yet.
Vital Stats that matters
- KL Rahul vs Kagiso Rabada could be an exciting contest – the LSG captain has scored 50 runs off 36 balls from Rabada’s in the IPL while being dismissed three times.
- Padikkal facing Arshdeep Singh could be similar, because the batter has scored 49 off 31 against the let-arm quick in the IPL while being sent back three times.
- Pooran batted at No. 6 in LSG’s first game and he’ll try to bat deep to face Harshal Patel in the death. Pooran has smashed 25 runs off 10 balls against Harshal without falling even once in the IPL.
- Against popular perception, left-hand batter Shikhar Dhawan doesn’t have a great record against the left-arm spinner Krunal Pandya: 29 off 26 with no dismissal and just one four and one six.
Score Prediction
| Team | 1st Innings | 2nd Innings |
| Lucknow Super Giants | 150-160 | 140-160 |
| Punjab Kings | 140-160 | 150-160 |
LSG vs PBKS: Predicted XIs
LSG Predicted XI: Quinton de Kock, KL Rahul (capt & wok), Devdutt Padikkal, Ayush Badoni, Deepak Hooda, Nicholas Pooran, Marcus Stoinis, Krunal Pandya, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohsin Khan, Naveen-ul-Haq.
Impact Player : Yash Thakur
PBKS Predicted XI: Shikhar Dhawan (capt), Jonny Bairstow, Prabhsimran Singh, Liam Livingstone, Sam Curran, Jitesh Sharma (wk.), Shashank Singh, Harpreet Brar, Harshal Patel, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar.
Impact Player: Arshdeep Singh
Fantasy Predicted XI : KL Rahul (C & WK), Quinton de Kock, Mohsin Khan, Ravi Bishnoi, Marcus Stoinis, Krunal Pandya, Shikhar Dhawan, Kagiso Rabada, Sam Curran (VC), Liam Livingstone, Arshdeep Singh.
Tactical Acumen
The Lucknow pitch given how it played last year is expected to be a spin-friendly track. There will be more in it for the spinners than the pacers. LSG have Ravi Bishnoi and Krunal Pandya as their two spinners while the Kings have Harpreet Brar and Rahul Chahar. The key for both Rahul and Dhawan is to use their overs wisely.
LSG vs PBKS prediction
As per Google’s win probability, there is a 52% chance that Lucknow will beat Punjab in their second match and grab their first points in the tournament. As per CricTracker, whoever bowls first will win the match. We expect LSG to secure their first win with the possibility of KL Rahul beating the highest individual score at the Ekana.
This is the first home game for Lucknow Super Giants and hence KL Rahul and Co. will have an advantage in the contest. The Punjab Kings interestingly, won the last game they played in Lucknow last year. The two teams have played three games so far in the IPL with LSG winning two and Punjab Kings one game so far. The two teams will play two more games this season.