With a spot in the playoffs up for grabs, Lucknow Super Giants take on fellow newcomers Gujarat Titans at the MCA Stadium in Pune on Tuesday. The winner of the match is set to qualify for the playoffs, while it’s also likely that the winner will finish among the top two teams from the league stage of the campaign.
Since promoting Deepak Hooda up in the batting order, Lucknow have established a more stable batting unit. Against Gujarat, would the franchise making some changes?
Quinton de Kock and KL Rahul are set to open the innings for the franchise. While Rahul has consistently been scoring runs, De Kock has also pulled up his socks in the last few games. Manish Pandey didn’t quite manage to cement his spot at the No. 3 spot but Deepak Hooda has done very well at the position.
In 11 matches, Hooda has 320 runs to his name at an average of 29.09. His strike-rate has also been quite impressive with 133.89.
Marcus Stoinis’ position has also been under the microscope. He could be played as high as No. 3 in the team and has also been used at No. 8. His most-effective knock, however, has come at the bottom of the batting order.
Stoinis is likely to be used as a floater in the batting unit once again. Krunal Pandya and Ayush Badoni take up the No. 5 and No. 6 spots in the team while Jason Holder slots in at No. 7.
Dushmantha Chameera, Avesh Khan and Mohsin Khan have formed a precious pace-bowling trio for Lucknow. Mohsin, especially, has been quite impressive since making his debut. Ravi Bishnoi remains the sole specialist spinner in the team.
LSG likely playing 11 vs GT: Quinton de Kock (wk), KL Rahul (c), Deepak Hooda, Marcus Stoinis, Krunal Pandya, Ayush Badoni, Jason Holder, Dushmantha Chameera, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, Mohsin Khan
