Lucknow Super Giants vs Chennai Super Kings, IPL 2023, Today Match Prediction

lsg vs csk Match Prediction & Analysis

LSG will be facing CSK in another home game on a surface that has been pretty disappointing in an IPL where 200+ scores have become common. KL Rahul was injured during the last game and his availability for this match isn’t certain. The visiting team has the right bowling attack to exploit the slow conditions here.

However, CSK have performed their best with the bat on flat pitches in Chennai, Bengaluru, and Kolkata. They will find themselves in trouble when they come to Lucknow.

Though LSG put RCB on the backfoot restricting them to a pretty low score, they would have now realized how difficult it is to bat on that surface after failing in the run chase.

Time for curating the pitch to help the batters and offer an even contest between bat and ball. And even with a new pitch, things would still not get very exciting with the bat and we would see another low-scoring thriller in Lucknow.

TEAMS PREVIEW

Lucknow Super Giants Preview

Lucknow Super Giants have lost their last three games on this ground. It isn’t as much home as other grounds are for the rest of the IPL teams. Not only have teams returned to the home-away format after 4 years, but this stadium is also a new entrant to the IPL. And to top that, it has offered a tricky surface where batters have struggled to play their strokes.

LSG have some powerful hitters throughout their lineup. Kyle Mayers at the top, Stoinis and Pooran in the lower order and Ayush Badoni in the middle. To have a pitch like this on your home ground is a bad strategy when you’ve got such big guns in the batting lineup. There is also Krunal Pandya who is handy with the bat and can strike the long ball. 

Whether KL Rahul is completely fit by the time of this match remains to be seen. However, his presence in the batting order doesn’t seem to have a big impact. His strike rates are disappointing and it will be the captaincy that would be missed if he sits out for this match. Amit Mishra and Ravi Bishnoi will be the key bowlers to watch out for in the spin department.

Whereas, the controversy’s child, Naveen-ul-Haq will lead the pace attack for LSG. He is a reliable pacer who’s delivered breakthroughs regularly and is one to watch out for.

Lucknow Super Giants Predicted Playing XI:

KL Rahul (c), Kyle Mayers, Deepak Hooda, Marcus Stoinis, Krunal Pandya, Nicholas Pooran (wk), Krishnappa Gowtham, Ravi Bishnoi, Naveen-ul-Haq, Amit Mishra, Yash Thakur

Chennai Super Kings Preview

MS Dhoni delivered what his fans were waiting for in the last game. Two sixes off the last two balls of the CSK innings. And that pushed the CSK total to 200-run mark.

Given the bat-friendly surface at Chepauk this season, it may not have been a very big total. Yet, it was a very competitive score and the failure to defend it at their home ground must have dented the confidence a little. 

The inexperience of this bowling attack and the injuries to the key players such as Ben Stokes has been a matter of concern for CSK. 

Matheesha Pathirana has shown promise with some good performances at the death. However, he is by no means a very reliable bowler who can handle pressure in every game and deliver a tight over at the death.

Same goes for another young and promising left-arm pacer, Akash Singh. He gets the new ball to move in the powerplay and can be lethal. However, without any senior bowler in the side, someone like Shami or Boult, the young bowlers are shouldering big responsibilities way too early in their career.

Nevertheless, given the Lucknow pitch, CSK can expect to bounce back with the ball and it is the batters now who need to watch out. Conway, Gaikwad, and Dube are in good form and have been consistent.

But these conditions will challenge them all and they need to play a matured innings to get CSK to a respectable total.

Chennai Super Kings Predicted Playing XI:

Ruturaj Gaikwad, Devon Conway, Ajinkya Rahane, Moeen Ali, Ambati Rayudu, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni (c & wk), Matheesha Pathirana, Tushar Deshpande, Maheesh Theekshana

PITCH AND WEATHER CONDITIONS

Weather Conditions

The pitch has been on a slower-side since the beginning of this season. But in the last game, we saw it was very tricky and batters struggled to even score run-a-ball making 127 look like a massive target. The weather would be partly cloudy by the time the game kicks off with a high 26 degrees Celsius

Venue Details

The Ekana Stadium in Lucknow, home of LSG, will be the venue for this match. There haven’t been many games on this ground whether international or domestic T20s and it is not easy to tell what a good 1st innings total would be. However, something over 160-165 would be competitive if the pitch continues to be on the slower side.

Toss: To Bat

Though batting has been difficult here and it is not easy to figure out what a good total would be, chasing is definitely the most difficult of tasks. If well set batters are out at the death, new batters would find it difficult to score runs at 8-9 an over and get them team across the line. Batting first and backing the bowlers to defend the total would be the way to go.

LSG vs CSK
Winning Prediction

The pitch would offer the same challenge to both teams but as Faf reckoned in the last game, it would turn more in the second innings, making it difficult to chase. So, toss will be a key factor considering there aren’t any big changes to the pitch. CSK have a strong batting lineup and a brilliant spin bowling attack with Theekshana, Jadeja, and Moeen Ali. It can be a close encounter between the two teams. The lower middle order of CSK is more experienced playing in such conditions compared to that of LSG and hence, will have the upper hand coming into this match.

CSK will beat LSG

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