Overview
On Friday evening, Punjab Kings (PBKS) and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) meet in a game where victory could see either side climb to top spot in the table, or within touching distance of it. Both teams have won four of their seven games so far. This match comes shortly after they last played each other in Lucknow, with Punjab winning a close contest by two wickets with three balls to spare.
Punjab will be aiming for their third win in four games after defeating Mumbai Indians by 13 runs in their last match. Sam Curran, the stand-in captain, top-scored with 55 runs from 29 balls, but they are hoping to have Shikhar Dhawan back from his shoulder injury to play and lead the side against Lucknow. Dhawan has scored 233 runs in four innings this season, and has the experience of 210 IPL appearances.
Lucknow have stumbled in recent matches and are trying to avoid a third loss in four. They suffered a narrow seven-run defeat against Gujarat Titans on Saturday, despite being given a 97 per cent chance of winning with three overs remaining, and a 93 per cent chance with 12 balls to go. KL Rahul averages 60.33 in his last three innings, and hit74 from 56 balls in the last game against Punjab, but his inability to beat the field contributed to the loss against Gujarat. Kyle Mayers, his opening partner, has scored 243 runs in IPL 2023, and hit three sixes in the previous match against Punjab.
Lucknow will be hoping that Mark Wood is fit to play after missing the last two games. He will soon return to England for the birth of his daughter, making it crucial for the team to get as much out of him as possible. Wood has taken 11 wickets from 16 overs with a strike-rate of 8.72, and is the only bowler to have a five-wicket haul in this year’s competition.
Others to watch include Arshdeep Singh, who has taken at least one wicket in all seven of his appearances this season, with figures of 4-29 against Mumbai Indians being the second-best performance in his IPL career.
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Venue and time
PCA IS Bindra Stadium, Mohali. 7:30 PM
Expected conditions and toss
Punjab Kings have won just one out of three at their home venue. The average first-innings score at the IS Bindra Stadium is 173, just under the tournament average of 179. The weather forecast predicts cloud cover with humidity levels expected to reach 50 per cent during the second innings. That could favour Punjab’s swing bowlers, Arshdeep and Curran.
Head-to-head
This is only the third match between the two teams, but the first in Mohali, with the current head-to-head score at 1-1.
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Likely Playing XIs and Impact Player
Rishi Dhawan or Atharva Taide could be the impact player for Punjab, depending on whether they are defending or chasing. For Lucknow, Amit Mishra has been the main impact player in IPL 2023 and is expected to continue his role.
Punjab Kings: Shikhar Dhawan (C), Prabhsimran Singh, Matt Short/Sikandar Raza, Liam Livingstone, Harpreet Singh, Sam Curran, Jitesh Sharma (WK), Shahrukh Khan, Harpreet Brar, Rahul Chahar, Arshdeep Singh.
Lucknow Super Giants: KL Rahul (C), Kyle Mayers, Krunal Pandya, Nicholas Pooran (WK), Ayush Badoni, Marcus Stoinis, Deepak Hooda, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, Mark Wood, Yudhvir Singh.