Lucknow Super Giants are all set to lock horns with Mumbai Indians in match 7 of Indian Premier League 2022 at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai. Both the teams come into this contest after losing their respective opening games of the season.
Lucknow lost their opening game to Gujarat by five wickets after a poor show with the bat. They set the opponents a target of only 158 before being unable to defend it. Mumbai, meanwhile, lost to the Delhi Capitals by four wickets. Ishan Kishan’s unbeaten 81 powered them to a first innings total of 177, but the bowlers were unable to defend it. The Capitals chased down the target with 10 balls to spare.
The two teams will be looking to get off the mark when they take on each other in match 7.
LSG vs CSK – Head to head total
LSG and CSK do not have any head to head history as this is the former’s maiden IPL season.
Injury update and team news
CSK – Fast bowler Deepak Chahar is likely to miss the first five games of the season due to injury. South Africa’s Dwaine Pretorius and England’s Moeen Ali, meanwhile, are available for selection for this game.
LSG – For LSG, hard hitting batsman Marcus Stoinis will be unavailable till at least April 15 due to the on-going white-ball series against Pakistan.
Probable XI for both the teams
Chennai Super Kings: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Devon Conway, Ambati Rayudu, Ravindra Jadeja (c), Robin Uthappa, MS Dhoni (wk), Dwayne Bravo, Shivam Dube, Mitchell Santner, Chris Jordan, Tushar Deshpande
Lucknow Super Giants: KL Rahul(c), Quinton de Kock (wk), Evin Lewis, Manish Pandey, Deepak Hooda, Krunal Pandya, Ayush Badoni, Dushmantha Chameera, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, Andrew Tye
Two players to watch out for from both teams
CSK – Ruturaj Gaikwad and MS Dhoni
Fans had been long awaiting MS Dhoni’s finishing touch in the IPL, which they finally saw in this year’s tournament opener. The former CSK captain played a vintage knock in Chennai’s season opener, remaining unbeaten on 50. His half-century was laced with seven boundaries and a maximum. In all, Dhoni is the eighth-highest run-scorer in the IPL and cannot be ruled out of the game even when he is underperforming.
The other player CSK will bank upon is opening batsman Ruturaj Gaikwad. Although Gaikwad was unimpressive in the game against Kolkata, it can be noted that he was the highest run-scorer of IPL 2021 and will be looking to produce similar performances in IPL 2022.
LSG– Quinton de Kock and Deepak Hooda
Lucknow Super Giants’ famed opening pair KL Rahul and Quinton de Kock fell cheaply in the game against the Capitals, which eventually cost them the game. However, both are quality batsmen with lots of experience and they will be looking to bounce back in the second game. South Africa’s de Kock, especially, is a fearless hitter of the ball who can send the best of bowlers on a leather hunt.
All-rounder Deepak Hooda is another LSG player to watch out for. Hooda was the top run-scorer for Lucknow against Delhi with a knock of 55. With the ball, he picked up one wicket for 31 runs in three overs.
Who will win the match between LSG and CSK?
Both the teams are coming into this game after losing their respective opening games. While both Lucknow and Mumbai have strong squads, one aspect in which the former might struggle is captaincy. KL Rahul’s poor decision making came under the scanner after Lucknow’s loss to the Capitals, and if the new franchise wants to get off the mark, they will need better decision making from their skipper.
Where to watch the LSG vs CSK IPL 2022 match in India?
The LSG vs CSK IPL 2022 match can be watched on the Star Sports Network in India on March 31 at 7.30 PM IST. You can also watch the match online on the Hotstar app.
Image credit : IPL