Image Credit- AFP
When these two teams
last faced off in Mohali, there were nonstop pyrotechnics. LSG scored 257,
which at the time was the second-highest IPL total, followed by Kings’ 201.
The two teams will now play in Lucknow, which was a low bounce and low totals
location the previous year. Here, the host team often prefers black to red, and
the conditions varied based on the hue of the soil. On Saturday, a red-soil
pitch is predicted, which could imply less of a celebration for the spinners
and more bounce and pace for the quicks. If that is the course of events, LSG’s
pace unit will probably come under strain because, theoretically, their three
of Mohsin Khan, Naveen-ul-Haq, and Yash Thakur (they haven’t yet taken Shamar
Joseph into consideration) pales in comparison to Kings’ more all-round attack.
How can LSG
reconcile? With a batting lineup that includes Quinton de Kock, Marcus Stoinis,
Nicholas Pooran, Kyle Mayers, Ayush Badoni, and KL Rahul, they are a
high-voltage unit. With so much batting power at their disposal, the Kings
aren’t far behind. However, Jonny Bairstow hasn’t scored for them in the same
way that he did for Sunrisers Hyderabad (he missed the 2023 IPL due to injury),
so the likes of Prabhsimran Singh, Liam Livingstone, and Shikhar Dhawan will
need to make sure that the Kings finish among the top teams in terms of
scoring.
The consoling aspect
LSG will rely on is home advantage in IPL—home teams have won each of the first
nine games of the tournament—as they are currently bottom of the table after
just one game, while Kings have won one out of two.
After winning their first game, LSG’s new head coach Justin Langer expressed
his satisfaction at helping his squad “get a bit of rust out” and his
eagerness to take advantage of home-ground advantage.