That Liam Livingstone is the only non-opening batter in the side to have a fifty to his name lays bare the big problem that the side have been facing

Liam Livingstone

Mayank Agarwal

Indian Premier League, 2022

Punjab Kings

Delhi Capitals

From explosion to implosion - PBKS’ tale leaves a sour aftertaste

The winner of Punjab versus Delhi will be the favorites for a playoff spot

Hardik Pandya

KL Rahul

Shreyas Iyer

MS Dhoni

Rohit Sharma

Faf du Plessis

Rishabh Pant

Sanju Samson

Kane Williamson

Gujarat Titans

Lucknow Super Giants

Rajasthan Royals

Royal Challengers Bangalore

Kolkata Knight Riders

Chennai Super Kings

Mumbai Indians

Sunrisers Hyderabad

Indian Premier League 2022: Qualification scenarios

The tearaway quick hasn’t played for South Africa since the last T20 World Cup because of an injury

Anrich Nortje

Tristan Stubbs

South Africa tour of India, 2022

South Africa

Stubbs earns maiden call-up; Nortje returns for India T20Is

The former Sri Lanka skipper once again showed his class against Bangladesh, missing out on his second double ton by a whisker 

Angelo Mathews

Sri Lanka tour of Bangladesh, 2022

Sri Lanka

Bangladesh

Invaluable Angelo Mathews: Rising above injuries and contract disputes

Zubayr Hamza was on provisional suspension since March this year and his performances since January 17, 2022 have been disqualified by ICC

Zubayr Hamza

SA's Zubayr Hamza gets nine months suspension for doping violation

Across RR’s last two matches, the 21-year-old has unleashed a different, more aggressive version of himself

Devdutt Padikkal

Yashasvi Jaiswal

Marcus Stoinis

Dazzling Padikkal hitting right notes in quest of mastering the art of No.4

A win for Kolkata Knight Riders against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Saturday has helped them to stay alive in the competition. However, a lot of results have to go their way.In Sunday&rsquo;s double header, Gujarat Titans won against Chennai Super Kings and confirmed the top spot as no team now can reach 20 points. In the second match, Rajasthan Royals beat Lucknow Super Giants to reach 16 points.Chennai endure their worst seasonThe 2022 edition of the IPL hasn&rsquo;t gone the champions way. The five-time champions Mumbai Indians with nine losses, their worst in a season, are languishing at the bottom and the four-time champions are just above them. Even the two-time champs Kolkata, are struggling to make it to the play-offs.Chennai&rsquo;s loss against Gujarat in their 13th fixture was the ninth of the season, their worst across the seasons of IPL. In 2020 and in 2012, they lost eight matches. However, in 2012, despite the loss, they were the runner-up. &nbsp; &nbsp;Drought of boundariesThe strip at Wankhede in the match between Chennai and Gujarat was a bit sticky, making it difficult to score freely. But, not to an extent where a single boundary couldn&rsquo;t be scored off in the last five overs.After being 109/2 at the end of 15th over, Chennai batters struggled to score runs in the last five overs, despite wickets in hands. They managed to score only 24 runs in the last five overs without a single boundary. In the IPL, this was the first time Chennai batted all the five overs and didn&rsquo;t score a boundary in this phase.Gaikwad&rsquo;s slow inningsRuturaj Gaikwad in his innings against Gujarat, started off well in the first 20 balls as he scored at a strike rate of 140.As the innings progressed, the opener strived to find timing and scored at a strike rate of 86.2. His half-century came off 44 balls, his slowest in the IPL. Not only that, at the end of his dismissal, Gaikwad had scored at a strike rate of 108.2. In a 50+ innings while batting first, his strike rate is the lowest for a Chennai batter.Pathirana bags a wicket of the first ballMatheesha Pathirana who played only two T20s, made his IPL debut at the age of 19 years and 148 days. The slingy actioned Sri Lankan pacer, became the third youngest player to play for Chennai in IPL.His IPL career was off to a dream start as he picked up the wicket of Shubman Gill with his first delivery. Pathirana became the second Chennai bowler after Vidyut Sivaramakrishnan in 2008 against Rajasthan to bag a wicket of the first ball bowled in IPL.&nbsp;Rajasthan&rsquo;s best six hitting seasonWith hard hitting batsmen like Jos Buttler (37), Sanju Samson (21) and Shimron Hetmyer (21), the Rajasthan team have smashed 112 sixes this season, the most for a team in this edition. The only other team to hit 100+ sixes so far has been Kolkata (100).<img src="https://images-cricketcom.imgix.net/1652650109319-articleimg" style="width: 700px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib fr-fil">In fact, across the seasons of the IPL, the 112 sixes are the most number of sixes hit by Rajasthan. This was only their second season after 2020 (105) in which they had scored 100+ sixes. They have hit six every 13.9 balls, the best by a team in this edition.Samson brutal against spinSamson is one of those Indian batters who have the ability to hit both sides of the ground with authority against spinners. In this season, he has averaged over 50 against spin at a strike rate of 179.8.<img src="https://images-cricketcom.imgix.net/1652650142849-articleimg" style="width: 700px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib fr-fil">*AMONG INDIAN BATTERSIn the IPL, among Indian batters who have scored 150+ runs against spin in a season, Samson&rsquo;s strike rate of 179.8 in this season is the best. Interestingly, Samson acquires the top two spots in this list. He had a strike rate of 172.1 against spin in 2020.The &ldquo;Parag&rdquo; factor in the fieldIn minimal chances Riyan Parag has got with the bat, he has been excellent for Rajasthan. However, in the outfield, the Assam player has been a live wire.In this edition of the IPL, Parag has inflicted 14 dismissals as a fielder, 13 catches and one run out. His 13 catches are the most for a player and he has a catch/innings ratio of 1. In this edition, only Rinku Singh has a better ratio (1.3), eight catches in six matches. Overall in the IPL, this is the joint most catches taken by an Indian fielder in a season of IPL. Rohit Sharma (2012) and Ravindra Jadeja (2015 &amp; 2021) also pouched 13.Most sixes in a season of IPLThroughout this season, the strips across the four venues have been conducive for batsmen. Hence, a flurry of sixes. Also, the extra 14 matches (60 to 74) has stretched the six hitting number. In this season, there have already been 885 sixes hit, the most in a season of the IPL. In 2018, the season had witnessed 872 sixes, the previous highest. With another 11 matches remaining, the 1000 sixes mark could be a possibility.Match 61: Kolkata vs HyderabadRussell&rsquo;s day of recordsAndre Russell has been the most impactful player for Kolkata this season. He is the second highest run scorer for Kolkata with 331 runs at a strike rate of 182.3 and the highest wicket-taker with 17 wickets at a strike rate of 8.9.<img src="https://images-cricketcom.imgix.net/1652650212850-articleimg" style="width: 700px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib fr-fil">En route his unbeaten knock of 49 against Hyderabad, Russell joined an elite list of players in the IPL. By registering his 2000th run in his match against Hyderabad, Russell became the fifth player to achieve the double of 2000+ runs and 50+ wickets in IPL. To add more, he became the fifth player and the third from Kolkata to hit 300+ runs and bag 15+ wickets in a season of IPL. Jacques Kallis has achieved this feat across two seasons (2012 &amp; 13), both for Kolkata.<img src="https://images-cricketcom.imgix.net/1652650245303-articleimg" style="width: 700px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib fr-fil">His 2000th- run in the IPL, came off just 1120 balls, which is the quickest for a batsman in the IPL. Virender Sehwag reached the milestone in 1211 balls, 91 balls slower than Russell.The big man&rsquo;s day doesn&rsquo;t end there. By virtue of his unbeaten 49 off 28 balls and his spell of 3/22 (4), he bagged his 12th Player of the Match award for Kolkata, the joint most for Kolkata in the IPL alongside Sunil Narine.Williamson&rsquo;s season of struggleKane Williamson&rsquo;s role in T20s is to be an accumulator. However, his strike rate in this season has been below par even for batters who are known as sheet anchors. The initial six overs are the phase in which batsmen look to optimize the most and, in this phase, Williamson has a paltry strike rate of 76.4. In a season of IPL, among batters who have faced 100+ balls in this phase, only Ambati Rayudu (74.5) in 2011 had a lower strike rate.<img src="https://images-cricketcom.imgix.net/1652650290804-articleimg" style="width: 700px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib fr-fil">More to his agony, his overall strike rate of 92.9 in this season is the lowest for a captain who has scored 200+ runs in a season and the second lowest overall. Hanuma Vihari (86.7) in 2013 had a strike rate after scoring 200+ runs.Powered by <a href="https://www.froala.com/wysiwyg-editor?pb=1" title="Froala Editor">Froala Editor</a>

A few noteworthy stats from Match 61, 62 & 63 of IPL 2022 at MCA stadium (Pune), Brabourne and Wankhede

Andre Russell

Matheesha Pathirana

Ruturaj Gaikwad

Riyan Parag

Stats: CSK’s worst IPL season, most sixes by RR in a season & Russell fastest to 2k runs

Rajasthan Royals skipper Sanju Samson felt that the good atmosphere within the dressing room has contributed in the team bouncing back from an eight-wicket defeat against Delhi Capitals to win against Lucknow Super Giants on Sunday.RR defended 179 on a tricky Brabourne surface after managing to reach a par score without a single fifty from their batters.Samson said that there wasn&#39;t discussed after the loss against DC.&quot;There wasn&#39;t much to discuss because we have been playing good cricket in the 12-13 matches so far. Its very normal in a tournament like IPL to lose games. Its important for us to not doubt ourselves after losing and allow fear come in. That&#39;s why we are keeping the atmosphere chill in the dressing room and during meetings,&quot; Samson said at the post-match press conference.Opener Yashasvi Jaiswal (41 off 29 balls) was once the top scorer for RR while Devdutt Padikkal added 39 off 18 balls with every batter contributing in double figures after Orange Cap holder Jos Buttler was dismissed for two runs. Samson was pleased with the collective team effort.&quot;That&#39;s what our team is all about. Each and every one who went in to bat showed the intent and contributed 10-15 runs which was crucial. We have a lot of match winners and its all about playing their role in that moment,&quot; he said.After enduring a nervy moments in the middle of the season, Padikkal continued his good form with an anchor role. Samson felt that his 32-ball 31 in a tough game against Punjab Kings helped the lefthander&#39;s confidence.&quot;There is not much time to overthink in this tournament. You back your hitting ability. Devdutt Padikkal took some time to think about his batting and played the anchor role against Punjab which got his confidence up. Today he was once good which is great news for the team,&quot; Samson said.KL Rahul felt that the plan of holding back Marcus Stoinis, who walked in No.6, was to utilize his hitting prowess at the end. The Australian scored 27 off 17 balls, but unable to take his team over the line as wickets fell at the other end.&quot;We are trying to utilize players who best suit the situation. For us, Marcus is one of those players who has the brute force and can be really dangerous at the back end. It&#39;s the reason why we picked him for the role of a finisher,&quot; he said.Chasing 179, LSG managed 154/8 in 20 overs after their top three were dismissed for 29 runs on the board. Rahul felt that it was difficult for the finishers to perform their role when the top order doesn&#39;t set up the platform.&quot;The team needs the top order to set up the game for someone like Stoinis and Jason (Holder) to come in and finish the game which hasn&#39;t happened unfortunately,&quot; he said.&quot;Losing three wickets for 30 is never ideal to chase 170-180. It was the turning point for us,&quot; Rahul added.LSG, who are third in the table, need to win against Kolkata Knight Riders in their final match as Rahul admitted that the team is under pressure ahead of the game.&quot;Yes, there is a bit of pressure. I won&#39;t lie. We all know that no points come easy. We&#39;ve had to learn that the hard way when we could&#39;ve been sitting here having qualified. It&#39;s one game for us a team to challenge ourselves,&quot; Rahul said.Powered by <a href="https://www.froala.com/wysiwyg-editor?pb=1" title="Froala Editor">Froala Editor</a>

RR bounced back from a big defeat against DC to beat LSG by 24 runs on Sunday

We never allowed fear of losing to come in, says Samson

At the IPL 2022 auction, Rajasthan Royals made arguably the most curious purchase. The franchise had already retained two openers in Jos Buttler and Yashasvi Jaiswal, but they still went ahead and splashed a whopping 7.75 crore on another opener, Devdutt Padikkal.At the outset, it seemed like a buy that did not make sense. Because not only did they already have an LHB-RHB opening pair, they chose to invest nearly 8 crore on someone who had never batted as a non-opener in the IPL. In the immediate aftermath of the purchase, Royals&rsquo; owner Manoj Badale said that they were planning to use Padikkal at No.3, but one could not help but ask &lsquo;why?&rsquo;. Why would you do that when there are specialist number threes available in the market?Jaiswal and Padikkal started the season together, with the latter slotting in the middle-order, but it only took three failures from the bat of Jaiswal for the management to move away from the initial strategy. Frankly, Padikkal fared alright in those three games &mdash; he managed 41 (29) and 37 (29) in two of the three innings &mdash; but despite his above-average start, the management saw Jaiswal&rsquo;s dwindling form as the perfect opportunity to push their 7.75 crore to his best position. Giving Padikkal his preferred position, they assumed, would allow him to explode.Except there was a twist. Padikkal opened the batting in each of the next 7 matches, but in those games struggled monumentally, averaging 18.71 while striking at 119.1. It wasn&rsquo;t a problem when the team was winning matches and when Buttler was in god mode, but Padikkal&rsquo;s struggles started hurting the side when neither happened. The moment RR&rsquo;s season hit a roadblock, with them losing back-to-back matches against sides reeling at the bottom, the management decided it was time to revert to Plan A again.In walked Jaiswal. Down went Padikkal.In their first game back together, Jaiswal shone. The youngster, in IPL 2021, was one of the best powerplay bashers in the entire league, and versus the Kings rediscovered his touch to blast a match-winning 41-ball 68. For Padikkal, however, things went from bad to worse as he played a near match-losing knock, scoring a painful 31(32) batting at No.4. Should it not have been for a late cameo from Shimron Hetmyer, the Royals would, in all likelihood, have botched the chase.At the end of the Punjab Kings encounter, Padikkal&rsquo;s season, and to a lesser extent his position in the Royals&rsquo; team, was at a crossroads.&nbsp;It is to the 21-year-old&rsquo;s full credit that in the two games since, he&rsquo;s managed to unleash a never-seen-before version of himself that&rsquo;s proving to be the perfect fit for the role he&rsquo;s been asked to play.Today at the Brabourne against Lucknow, Padikkal played, without a shadow of doubt, his best knock of the season.&nbsp;He walked in at a crucial time, with the Royals just having lost their skipper, but ensured, through an ultra-attacking early burst, that his side did not lose even an ounce of momentum. Many a time in the past &mdash; starting with his RCB days &mdash; Padikkal has been guilty of stalling the team&rsquo;s momentum in the middle-overs, but tonight was not one of those games.In just the third ball he faced, the southpaw made his intentions clear. Padikkal drove the second ball of his innings down the ground in orthodox fashion to collect a four, but no one in the stadium &mdash; certainly not the bowler Marcus Stoinis &mdash; expected him to swing his arms and deposit a length-ball into the stands immediately. It was, you could say, uncharacteristic of him to do so.&nbsp;Padikkal&rsquo;s usual template involves him only going after balls that are &lsquo;there&rsquo; to be hit, but against Lucknow, he was manufacturing opportunities, and adhered to the &lsquo;boundaries above all&rsquo; mantra.&nbsp;Nothing encapsulated his innings better than the four he collected off Chameera on the fourth ball of the 11th over. Having played consecutive dot balls, it was almost as if Padikkal &lsquo;wanted&rsquo; to find the boundary rope on the next delivery, even if it meant taking an unwarranted risk. The southpaw danced down the wicket looking to slap the ball over mid-wicket, but he was undone by pace. Luckily, however, he ended up getting the desired result anyway, as the ball somehow ended up going over mid-off for a boundary.&nbsp;In retrospect, the shot selection was not the wisest. Even then, the skip down the track was indicative of a conscious tactic to remain positive.&nbsp;The positivity overflowed against the spinners too: he collected 14 off the first 6 balls he faced of Krunal and Bishnoi. Eventually one shot too many ended up costing Padikkal his wicket, as he holed out to deep mid-wicket, but by the time he perished he&rsquo;d already played a game-changing hand, amassing 39 off just 18 balls.&nbsp;What&rsquo;s to be noted is that Padikkal has now played back-to-back impactul hands at No.4, showing that he has it in him to evolve and adapt. The 21-year-old&rsquo;s 48 against Delhi was not as eye-catching as his blitz on Sunday, but there he managed to score at a strike rate of 160.00 when the Royals were teetering at 54/2 in the 9th over.Like against the Super Giants, there was visible intent from Padikkal&rsquo;s willow against the Capitals too: he carved the first ball he faced through square to the boundary, and then smoked back-to-back maximums off Axar.It&rsquo;s not just the naked eye that&rsquo;s playing tricks. The numbers confirm that Padikkal has consciously played more aggressive cricket in the last two matches, particularly early in his innings.<img src="https://images-cricketcom.imgix.net/1652645456061-articleimg" style="width: 800px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib fr-fil">During his first stint in the middle-order, the 21-year-old struck at just 118.5 in his first 10 balls and attacked just 40.70% of the balls he faced. He even left nearly 15% of the balls he faced, despite not coming up against the new ball.In the last two matches, Padikkal&rsquo;s strike-rate in the first 10 balls has skyrocketed to a whopping 185, and he&rsquo;s attacked 60% of the balls he&rsquo;s faced. And yes, against both DC and LSG, Padikkal did not &lsquo;leave&rsquo; a single delivery in the first 10 balls of his innings.&nbsp;Only time will tell whether these two knocks mark a turning point in Padikkal&rsquo;s RR career and subsequently his evolution as a T20 batter, but one thing is clear: the potential is there.&nbsp;From a RR perspective, the franchise could very well be set for the considerable future should Padikkal click at No.4, especially with Jaiswal already being the force of nature he is, at the very top of the order.&nbsp;Maybe the Royals did, after all, know exactly what they were doing when they decided to build a XI involving both Padikkal and Jaiswal.&nbsp;Powered by <a href="https://www.froala.com/wysiwyg-editor?pb=1" title="Froala Editor">Froala Editor</a>

Lucknow Super Giants captain admitted that a collective batting performances has been lacking from his team as he felt they need work on it following their 24-run defeat against Rajasthan Royals on Sunday.Chasing 179 on a tricky batting surface at the Brabourne Stadium, LSG lost wickets at key intervals as they failed to recover at the end.&quot;We were good with the ball, the batting group has not performed collectively in a few games. We have to go back and get better,&quot; Rahul said at the post-match presentation.Rahul said that the pitch was better than the one at MCA Stadium in Pune, where they were bundled out for 82 runs by Gujarat Titans in chase of 145.&quot;It was a gettable target, a good pitch. New ball was assisting the bowlers. The pitch at Pune was harder. This was a better pitch. There was seam movement earlier and they bowled well,&quot; he said.With one more game left to play, LSG stand a good chance at making the playoffs as they need a good win against Kolkata Knight Riders in their final league game on Wednesday. Rahul said that the aim will be to execute their plans.&quot;Executing what we want to is the aim. Holding our nerve and give ourselves a chance to play out the new ball or play out a good spell. There&#39;s often enough time to make up and go big from there,&quot; he said.RR climbed to second in the table with the win as captain Sanju Samson was pleased with the commanding win.&quot;This win was satisfying. The atmosphere is chilled and nice, it&#39;s not easy to maintain it when there are losses and we have done it well,&quot; he said.Samson felt that the presence of Ravichandran Ashwin is a plus for the team as they use him in any phase as he praised the energy James Neesham brought to the field.&quot;The intensity in the field was good. Special mention to Neesham who brought a lot of energy. The bonus of having quality spinners is you can use them anywhere,&quot; he said.Powered by <a href="https://www.froala.com/wysiwyg-editor?pb=1" title="Froala Editor">Froala Editor</a>

LSG fell short of a target of 179 against RR as captain KL Rahul felt batting is an area to improve

Rahul calls for a collective batting effort from LSG

Lucknow Super Giants vs Rajasthan Royals, Match 63, IPL 2022: Live-Blog

Clinical Rajasthan register a comprehensive 24-run win against Lucknow

We precisely have a week to go for the group stages of the 2022 edition of the Indian Premier League to conclude, and the race for the playoffs is heating up. Gujarat Titans, with 9 wins, have already made it through to the next stage, but a multitude of other teams are still fighting for the three remaining spots. Sunday will witness two playoff contenders, Lucknow Super Giants and Rajasthan Royals, go head to head with each other at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai. LSG will seal qualification with a win, while RR will edge that much closer should they collect two points. It is a tricky situation for RR, though, for a loss will leave them in an uncomfortable position, having to fight it out for the fourth spot in the final week.&nbsp;Ground DetailsLucknow will take on Rajasthan at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai, the highest scoring venue of the IPL 2022 season. 14 matches have been played at the Brabourne so far, and the ground has seen teams post an average first innings score of 179. Of the 14 matches, equal number of games have been won by the team batting first and chasing, but captains have, in general, tended to chase at the venue due to its true nature.&nbsp;That being said, each of the last three games at the Brabourne have been won by the team batting first. In fact, the last game played at the venue saw Punjab Kings post 209 batting first, and then restrict the Royal Challengers to 155 to seal a thumping win.&nbsp;Given the recent results, then, it won&rsquo;t be a surprise to see the captain winning the toss on Sunday opting to bat. It is also worth noting that both Lucknow and Rajasthan are sides that prefer batting first.Team selection<img src="https://images-cricketcom.imgix.net/1652549774587-articleimg" style="width: 800px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib fr-fil"> Captain selectionThis might not be the most popular of choices, but the numbers suggest that Krunal Pandya is a fantasy player&rsquo;s dream. Krunal quietly has had a fantastic season, scoring 150+ runs with the bat whilst averaging 23 with the ball, and he&rsquo;s been equally contributing on both fronts. Taking a punt on him against the Royals might just be worth the risk.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cricket.com/criclytics/210527/lsg-vs-rr-match-63-indian-premier-league-2022/player-projection" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Our Criclytics Player Projection predicts</a> Krunal to score 8-12 runs with the bat and pick 1-2 wickets with the ballX-factorsIn general, uncapped players featuring in their first ever season take time to settle, but that&rsquo;s not been the case with Mohsin Khan, who has set the IPL alight from the get go. The tall left-armer has featured in 6 matches this season, and in that has taken 10 wickets at a remarkable average of 10.90 and ER of 5.19. If you take into consideration the last 4 games alone, Mohsin has 9 wickets while not going at over 6 runs per over even once. He&rsquo;s in the form of his life, and thus picking him in the side is a no-brainer.<a href="https://www.cricket.com/criclytics/210527/lsg-vs-rr-match-63-indian-premier-league-2022/player-projection" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Our Criclytics Player Projection predicts</a> Mohsin to take 1-2 wickets vs RRTalking about x-factors with the ball, it is impossible to look beyond Yuzvendra Chahal, who arguably has been the best bowler of IPL 2022. He&rsquo;s currently second on the purple cap list, with 23 scalps to his name, and has been a wicket-taking machine. In other words, a fantasy points machine. He was not quite at his best in the previous encounter vs DC, but it was only a couple of games ago that Chahal took a 3-fer. Chahal took a four-wicket haul in the reverse-fixture versus LSG too, and is a no-brainer to be selected in the fantasy XI.<a href="https://www.cricket.com/criclytics/210527/lsg-vs-rr-match-63-indian-premier-league-2022/player-projection" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Our Criclytics Player Projection predicts</a> Chahal to pick 1-2 wickets vs LSGWe&rsquo;ve spoken about the second highest wicket-taker, so it&rsquo;s only fair that we speak about the second-highest run-getter, KL Rahul, who despite his share of failures has been enjoying a terrific season overall. Rahul failed in each of his last two matches, but if his recent form in the IPL is any evidence to go by, it probably means that he&rsquo;s due a big one. Rahul did not trouble the scorers in the reverse fixture against RR, but he is someone who needs to be backed at all costs.<a href="https://www.cricket.com/criclytics/210527/lsg-vs-rr-match-63-indian-premier-league-2022/player-projection" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Our Criclytics Player Projection predicts</a> Rahul to score between 25-37 runs vs RRHere are the top-10 picks as per Criclytics projected points<img src="https://images-cricketcom.imgix.net/1652549883544-articleimg" style="width: 800px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib fr-fil">&nbsp;Probable XIsLSG: Quinton de Kock (wk), KL Rahul (c), Deepak Hooda, Krunal Pandya, Ayush Badoni, Marcus Stoinis, Jason Holder, Dushmantha Chameera, Avesh Khan, Mohsin Khan, Ravi BishnoiRR: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson (c &amp; wk), Devdutt Padikkal, Rassie van der Dussen, Riyan Parag, Ravichandran Ashwin, Trent Boult, Prasidh Krishna, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep SenPowered by <a href="https://www.froala.com/wysiwyg-editor?pb=1" title="Froala Editor">Froala Editor</a>

Here are a few tips that might help you create your fantasy team for Match 63 of IPL 2022 between LSG and RR

Fantasy Preview: Lucknow Super Giants vs Rajasthan Royals, Match 63, IPL 2022

There was a time this season, not too long ago, where it felt like three teams would seal playoff spots well in advance, saving themselves from the hassle of getting into a playoff-spot tussle in the final week. The three sides were Gujarat Titans, Lucknow Super Giants and Rajasthan Royals, all of whom had raced to 12+ points at a time where other teams were stuck in single digits.&nbsp;The Titans have already qualified for the playoffs, and the Super Giants are all but there.&nbsp;But things are getting slightly tricky for the Royals, who have dug a slight hole for themselves by losing three of their last four games. Sanju Samson&rsquo;s side, make no mistake, are still in pole position to make it to the final four, but they no longer have the cushion that they enjoyed a fortnight ago.&nbsp;With 14 points, a NRR of +0.228 and still two games in hand, the Royals needn&rsquo;t panic yet, but a defeat on Sunday against Lucknow will see them enter the final week of the group stages under immense pressure, locked in battle with those currently below them for the final two qualification spots. Technically, then, Sunday&rsquo;s clash isn&rsquo;t a &lsquo;do-or-die&rsquo; encounter for Rajasthan, but they will enter the contest knowing it&rsquo;s a game they can ill-afford to lose.Lucknow, too, don&rsquo;t have a &lsquo;Q&rsquo; next to their name, but one suspects their ambitions will be far greater. KL Rahul&rsquo;s side are already on 16 points with two games still left, and from here, the Super Giants might consider not finishing in the top two a failure.&nbsp;Unlike RR, LSG have a cushion &mdash; they can afford to lose on Sunday &mdash; but having been trounced by the Titans in their previous encounter, the Super Giants would be itching to get back to winning ways, particularly with the knockouts beckoning.&nbsp;Batting first has become a concern for RajasthanSanju Samson barely won tosses in the first half of the season, but for the Royals, that didn&rsquo;t matter; they were winning games left, right and center, batting first. Jos Buttler, Shimron Hetmyer and Samson all were near-unstoppable in the first innings in the first half of the season, and remarkably, each of the Royals&rsquo; first six wins came when they batted first.&nbsp;However, the script has reversed in the second half.&nbsp;Each of the Royals&rsquo; last three defeats have come when they&rsquo;ve batted first, and the team has struggled to even post par totals.&nbsp;160, 152 and 158 is what the Royals managed the last three times they batted first, and each of the three totals were chased down rather comfortably by their opponents. Quite concerningly, all three defeats came to sides well below them on the points table.&nbsp;What&rsquo;s evident is that the team has been suffering as a result of the dip in form endured by their Big 3 &mdash; Buttler, Samson and Hetmyer &mdash; all of whom have fizzled out considerably in the second half, particularly whilst batting first. Buttler and Samson, in particular, have not just been not scoring runs with the same consistency but have also had issues with their strike rate. Buttler, the last three times he&rsquo;s batted first, has managed to strike at a mere 109.1, hitting a total of just 4 sixes in 88 balls.&nbsp;<img src="https://images-cricketcom.imgix.net/1652533494026-articleimg" style="width: 800px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib fr-fil">There&rsquo;s also been question marks over how RR have utilized their resources. Against the Knight Riders, Hetmyer didn&rsquo;t get to bat until the 17th over, and even though he finished with 27* off 13, &nbsp;the total they ended with (152/5) ultimately proved to be not enough. RR, not for the first time, promoted Ashwin to No.3 in their last encounter, and though the veteran did a fine job to score a brisk half-century, one wonders if the team would have been better off with the likes of Samson, Parag and van der Dussen facing more deliveries. All of the aforementioned batters entered the crease only after the 15th over, and ended up facing just 19 deliveries between them.Slumps like these are normal through the course of a long season, but RR would be hoping for their big guns to show up on Sunday and help them edge close to qualification.&nbsp;The dwindling form of Jason Holder<img src="https://images-cricketcom.imgix.net/1652533522081-articleimg" style="width: 800px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib fr-fil">Jason Holder, after arriving late, started the season with a bang for the Super Giants, and in no time became the quiet achiever of the pack. He delivered for Rahul whenever there was a need, especially at the death, and became an integral part of the very successful LSG bowling unit.&nbsp;Currently, however, the West Indian is in the midst of a mini slump, and in LSG&rsquo;s previous encounter against GT he bowled arguably his worst spell of the season. On a two-paced Pune wicket where just a total of 226 runs were scored across nearly 34 overs, Holder finished with figures of 1/41 off his 4, taken apart by the Gujarat batters. His spell certainly was not the difference between the two sides, for it was the batting that let LSG down, but it marked the third consecutive instance of Holder being taken to the cleaners.The 30-year-old has 4 wickets to his name across the last three matches, thanks to having cleaned up the KKR tail, but in the said period he&rsquo;s leaked runs at an ER of 11.1. His form with the ball hasn&rsquo;t cost the side due to the other seamers doing an exceptionally good job &mdash; Mohsin, Avesh and Chameera, in the same duration, have maintained an ER of 3.6, 6.4 and 8.4 respectively &mdash; but it is certainly starting to become a concern, especially with the playoffs nearing.It&rsquo;d be unrealistic to expect Moshin and Avesh to keep their current form up till the end of the season; both seamers, in fact, are due a failure anytime now. LSG hence need Holder to rediscover his form with the ball to ensure there is no over-dependence on select individuals on the bowling front.&nbsp;Probable XIsExpect Lucknow to bring back Ravi Bishnoi, who they curiously left out against the Titans. The Super Giants have enough batting depth, thus it&rsquo;ll likely be Karan Sharma who makes way for the leg-spinner.LSG: Quinton de Kock (wk), KL Rahul (c), Deepak Hooda, Krunal Pandya, Ayush Badoni, Marcus Stoinis, Jason Holder, Dushmantha Chameera, Avesh Khan, Mohsin Khan, Ravi BishnoiThe availability of Shimron Hetmyer remains unknown. The southpaw will take the place of van der Dussen should he be available. Else, expect the Royals to field an unchanged XI.RR: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson (c &amp; wk), Devdutt Padikkal, Rassie van der Dussen, Riyan Parag, Ravichandran Ashwin, Trent Boult, Prasidh Krishna, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep SenPowered by <a href="https://www.froala.com/wysiwyg-editor?pb=1" title="Froala Editor">Froala Editor</a>

A victory for LSG, meanwhile, would make them the second team to qualify for the playoffs

LSG VS RR,Match 63

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