Lucknow Super Giants will look to climb to the top of the points table in the 30th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL). They will host the defending champions Gujarat Titans in an afternoon game on Saturday. LSG are coming off an impressive win over Rajasthan Royals in their own den in their previous outing defending the lowest total of IPL 2023 so far. LSG didn't let RR reach the target of 155 runs and the way Lucknow surface behaves, the team looks perfectly settled at the moment.
On the other hand, GT have been hard done by miracles and one-man shows so far. Rinku Singh smashed five sixes off Yash Dayal to take KKR home while Rajasthan Royals scored close to 40 runs in their last three overs courtesy of some brilliant hitting from Shimron Hetmyer. The team will be fresh after a six-day break since their last outing and the Hardik Pandya led side will be looking to make a fresh start yet again. The team is at the fourth position at the moment and a win in this game can take them to the third place depending on the margin of victory.
Match Details
Match: IPL 2023, Match 30
Venue: Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow
Time: 3:30 PM IST
Broadcast and Live Streaming: Star Sports Network and JioCinema
Probable Playing XIs
Lucknow Super Giants: KL Rahul, Kyle Mayers/Quinton de Kock, Deepak Hooda, Marcus Stoinis, Nicholas Pooran (WK), Ayush Badoni, Krunal Pandya, Naveen-ul-Haq, Avesh Khan, Ravi Bishnoi, Amit Mishra
Gujarat Titans: Wriddhiman Saha (WK), Shubman Gill, Sai Sudharsan, Hardik Pandya (C), David Miller, Abhinav Manohar, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Alzarri Joseph, Mohammed Shami, Mohit Sharma, Noor Ahmad
Pitch and Weather Report
The average first innings score so far this season in Lucknow has been arounbd 158. There have been two kind of pitches with one assisting the slower bowlers more while the other one has been flat. Two matches have been won by teams bowling first while LSG defended 193 against DC pretty comfortably. With this being an afternoon game, the pitch is likely to assist the spinners a bit more.
The summer season is settling in at the moment in India and the temperature is expected to be around 37-39 Degrees Celsius during the match. The heat might take a toll on the players from both teams. There is no chance of rain during the match at all.
Predictions
Best Batter of the Match: Shubman Gill
Shubman Gill has not set the stage on fire as expected in this season so far. 63, 14, 39, 67, and 45 are his scores so far in IPL 2023 and even he will agree that he is yet to play to his potential this season. Gill is due for a big score and this might be the game for him to showcase his potential.
Best Bowler of the Match: Ravi Bishnoi
Ravi Bishnoi has been at his best this season with his variations. Though the surface in Lucknow has helped him, the youngster has also impressed in the away matches. He has picked six wickets so far and has been economical as well.
Who will win the Match: Gujarat Titans (GT)
