3 huge concerns for LSG ahead of their game against PBKS
The Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) will be up against the Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the 38th match of IPL 2023 on Friday, April 28. Both teams have eight points in the kitty at the moment and will be looking to get to double digits tonight.
While it is true that LSG are in quite a good position with four wins from seven games, there's no running away from the fact that they have some serious issues that need to be addressed at the earliest.
With the tournament now in its second half, these issues could come back to bite LSG if not solved. On that note, let's take a look at the three biggest issues for Lucknow ahead of their game against Punjab.
#1 KL Rahul's strike rate
LSG skipper KL Rahul's strike rate in T20 cricket has been a topic of discussion for a while now and that hasn't changed in this year's IPL as well. He has scored 155 runs in five games at a strike rate of 113.13, which is quite below the T20 standard.
His 74-run knock in LSG's first-leg game against the Punjab Kings came off 56 deliveries and many fans, critics, and pundits felt the right-handed batter's innings cost his team the game, which went down to the wire. His innings against Gujarat also fetched him criticism with regard to his strike rate.
Rahul's strike rate became a massive talking point in last year's Eliminator as well following LSG's loss against the Royal Challengers Bangalore. He later acknowledged that he needed to work on his strike rate.
#2 Deepak Hooda's form
Thanks to his performances in IPL 2022, Deepak Hooda earned a national team call-up and even delivered some good performances for India. He was expected to shoulder the responsibility of LSG's middle order in IPL 2023, but his batting hasn't been convincing.
Hooda has scored only 41 runs in seven games this season at a disappointing strike rate of 80.39.
The Super Giants will hope for an improved showing from their experienced batter in the second half of IPL 2023.
#3 Batting order
Lucknow's batting order in their previous game against the Gujarat Titans came as a shocker for fans and pundits. Krunal Pandya was sent out to bat after the dismissal of opener Kyle Mayers, which wasn't the smartest of moves. Pandya is someone who takes time at the crease and that wasn't ideal considering KL Rahul was taking his time to get used to the wicket.
They also missed a trick by sending Ayush Badoni ahead of Marcus Stoinis in the 17th over. By the time Stoinis arrived at the crease, it was too late as he had to slog right from ball one and couldn't execute his shots properly.
Such tactical mishaps need to be avoided as they can go on to cost the team both in the short and long run.