Indian T20 League 

Match 21: LUC vs PUN 

Preview 

Lucknow will host Punjab in match number 21 of the Indian T20 League 2023 at the Ekana Cricket Stadium on Saturday, April 15. The visitors are coming into this match on the back of a tough loss against reigning champions Gujarat. While Lucknow registered a thrilling last ball win over Bangalore as they chased down a mammoth total of 212 runs. The KL Rahul led side has emerged as one of the most formidable sides in the tournament. They have managed to pull off some great wins so far, where different players of the team have stepped up. Barring their most recent game, the Lucknow bowling has been up with the best with the likes of Ravi Bishnoi and Mark Wood in their likes. The hosts will need their batters to rise to the occasion. The top order hasn’t really fired in the tournament yet and they will be raring to get things going. KL Rahul’s poor form isn’t helping the cause. The Lucknow skipper scored  18 off 20 balls against Bangalore in the previous game. He needs to get back to the drawing board, try to stick to basics and play balls on merit. 

Punjab started the tournament brightly and secured two consecutive victories but ever since have failed to put up a clinical performance. With two wins and as many losses, the Punjab based franchise is positioned at the sixth place in the league standings. Their batting revolves around skipper Shikhar Dhawan, who is the leading run scorer in the tournament with over 233 runs in 4 innings. The addition of Matthew Short has bolstered the batting lineup. Short showed promising signs during his debut Ind T20 League game against Gujarat. He can bat, bowl and is an exceptional fielder. Bowlers for Punjab have done well in patches. The return of Kagiso Rabada is good news for them. He brings in experience to this fairly inexperienced bowling setup. He alongside Nathan Ellis and Arshdeep can form a lethal trio. Ahead of this tantalising tie, let us have a look at how these two sides fare out on Saturday. 

Match Details

Match: LUC vs PUN, 21st Match, Indian T20 League 2023

Date: Saturday, April 15, 2023

Time: 7:30 PM

Venue: Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow

Pitch and Weather Report

Lucknow has produced two varying surfaces where the scores across the two games were completely opposite. But in the two games the pitch equally assisted both the batters and bowlers. 

Partly Cloudy with a max temp of 38 degree celsius. 

LUC vs PUN Squads

LUC: KL Rahul (c), Kyle Mayers, Deepak Hooda, Marcus Stoinis, Krunal Pandya, Nicholas Pooran (wk), Jaydev Unadkat, Amit Mishra, Avesh Khan, Mark Wood, Ravi Bishnoi, Ayush Badoni, Daniel Sams, Prerak Mankad, Swapnil Singh, Krishnappa Gowtham, Romario Shepherd, Yash Thakur, Quinton de Kock, Naveen-ul-Haq, Manan Vohra, Yudhvir Singh Charak, Karan Sharma, Mayank Yadav

PUN: Prabhsimran Singh, Shikhar Dhawan (c), Matthew Short, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Sam Curran, Shahrukh Khan, Harpreet Brar, Kagiso Rabada, Rishi Dhawan, Arshdeep Singh, Sikandar Raza, Harpreet Singh Bhatia, Rahul Chahar, Atharva Taide, Gurnoor Brar, Nathan Ellis, Mohit Rathee, Baltej Singh, Liam Livingstone, Vidhwath Kaverappa, Shivam Singh

LUC vs PUN Probable Playing XIs

LUC: KL Rahul (c), Kyle Mayers, Deepak Hooda, Marcus Stoinis, Krunal Pandya, Nicholas Pooran (wk), Jaydev Unadkat, Amit Mishra, Avesh Khan, Mark Wood, Ravi Bishnoi

PUN: Shikhar Dhawan (c), Prabhsimran Singh, Matthew Short, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Shahrukh Khan, Sam Curran, Nathan Ellis, Mohit Rathee, Harpreet Brar, Rahul Chahar, Arshdeep Singh

Match Prediction

Lucknow will be brimming with confidence after pulling off an incredible last ball win against Bangalore. KL Rahul will however be hoping his bowlers put up a much improved show on Saturday. Punjab on the other hand will be eager to return to winning ways. Someone alongside skipper Dhawan needs to take the onus to score runs. Considering the team balance and current form, we predict Lucknow to win this fixture. 

Top Fantasy Picks

Shikhar Dhawan: The Punjab skipper has had a stellar tournament up till now. He has amassed over 233 runs in 4 innings and is currently the leading run scorer in the competition. He missed out in the last game but we fancy him to do well in this game. 

Arshdeep Singh: The left arm seamer can prove lethal with the new ball. He has the ability and control to move the ball both ways and cause problems for the opposition batters. 

Marcus Stoinis: The Australian international played a quickfire 65 in the last game against Bangalore. He came at a time when Lucknow were struggling at 23-3 and then turned the game upside down with his explosive play. 

Ravi Bishnoi: The young leggie is one of the brightest talents in this Lucknow lineup. He hasn’t been amongst the wickets but has been highly economical. Expect the 22 year old to come good on Saturday. 

Risky Captaincy Choice

Nathan Ellis has looked good off late and has picked 5 wickets in 3 games this season. The Aussie speedster possesses express pace and has the ability to surprise opposition batters with his deceptive pace variations. Apart from that, Ellis can get some help from the pitch which is expected to assist pace bowlers. 

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