Follow UsHaving played more than half their matches in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022, both Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and Punjab Kings (PBKS) need to scrap a bit more to assure themselves of a chance in the top four. LSG got off to an excellent start in the tournament having won three of their first four matches, but have managed to win just two more from the next four games.
PBKS have been far more inconsistent this season. They started the campaign by successfully chasing down over 200 against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), but as the season has gone by, they are yet to find any sort of momentum resulting in the side not having won back-to-back games even once.
They will look to turn a corner against a side led by their former skipper KL Rahul, who will look to add to their decimating win over Mumbai Indians (MI) in their previous match.
How have the openers fared?
Be it PBKS or LSG, the openers have always had a say in the results. While the combination of K Rahul and Quinton de Kock have put on 276 runs at 34.5 for the first wicket, PBKS openers Shikhar Dhawan and Mayank Agarwal are right below them having scored 255 at 36.4.
There does not seem to be much in it, but if you take a closer look at Rahul and Dhawan, it paints a different story.
The duo are the leading run-scorers in the IPL since 2020 and even this season, they are the glue that has held their respective teams together.
Despite his two ducks this season, Rahul has gone on to score two centuries and a fifty. He has been dominant across phases and has been severe against pacers and spinners alike. In fact, this is the first time since 2018, he has struck at over 145 against both pace and spin.
However, Rahul has shown weakness while chasing. All of his three 50-plus scores this season have come when LSG have batted first. However, while chasing, his average and strike-rate dips drastically.
His partner de Kock has had different fortunes on this front as he has fared far better in the second innings. Much like Rahul, Dhawan too has been a key figure for Punjab this season. He may get off to a slow start in the powerplay, as his strike-rate of 117 depicts, he gradually picks it up in the next two phases, striking at 136 and 181 respectively.
But, Mayank Agarwal is yet to find form. His inconsistency has mirrored PBKS’ season thus far and the Karnataka batter would be keen to change that.
Mayank has managed to bat through the powerplay just twice in his seven innings so far. While he averages 24 (SR 128) in the first six overs, in the middle-phase it reads a sorry 8 (SR 114). Unlike his opening partner, he has not gotten going against pace or spin, striking at 130 (Avg 26.3) and 115 (Avg 10.3).
The main reason for Mayank’s struggles this season against pacers can boil down to the fact that the bowlers have not allowed him to come on the front foot and drive, which he so dearly loves. Instead, he has been forced to go on the back foot more than he would like and as a result, the error has been drawn from him.
Pacers to Mayank in IPL 2022 – Pitch map
However, there was a drastic change in PBKS’ batting approach in the powerplay against CSK, where their focus was more on keeping wickets intact, instead of going bang-bang from the word go. In the first seven matches, PBKS scored at a run-rate of 9.5, 8 and 8.4 across the three phases, but against CSK, the scored at 6.2 in the powerplay, then operated at a run-rate of 9.6 in the middle and further accelerated at 12.8 in the death. Could this be the approach going forward?
The No. 3 conundrum for LSG
Lucknow have used three players – Manish Pandey (4 innings), Evin Lewis (3) and Krishnappa Gowtham – at the No. 3 position so far this season. Collectively, they average just 10.9 and have been dismissed every 11.6 deliveries and have struck a boundary every 9.3 deliveries – all of which are amongst the worst in the competition.
Pandey, who has played the most innings for LSG in that position has been exposed against pace, having been dismissed five out of six times overall against them, averaging just 11.4. Out of his five dismissals, four have come within the first 10 balls of his innings, painting a sorry picture.
Someone like Ayush Badoni could be tried in that position perhaps. He plays according to the situation and has already played some valuable knocks for the team down the order.
His focus has been on rotating the strike in the middle-overs (SR 114) and then goes big at the death (169). An added bonus is that he is fearless against the pacers, striking at close to 150 against them.
Krunal Pandya delivers
Just like Arshdeep Singh at the death for PBKS, Krunal Pandya has done the job for LSG in the middle overs. He may not get many wickets, but he has managed to keep the scoring rate down and built the pressure on the opposition. He has four wickets in the middle phase at an economy rate of just 6.3.
Among bowlers who have bowled at least 10 overs in IPL 2022, only three players have a better economy rate than Krunal’s 6.8. Even otherwise, this is the best IPL season Krunal has with the ball, striking once every 19.7 deliveries, 22.3 runs apart.
He has not done too badly with the bat either. He has scored a boundary every 5.4 deliveries and his 112 runs have come at a strike-rate of 147.
Off-season for Bishnoi
Ravi Bishnoi was PBKS’ stalwart in the last two seasons, but this year, there’s something missing. He has managed just six wickets from eight matches at an average of 41.2, which is the worst among bowlers with a minimum of five wickets after Jasprit Bumrah (45.8) and Ravindra Jadeja (42.6).
In IPL 2020 and 2021, Bishnoi picked up a combined 24 wickets at 25.3 and gave away just seven runs per over.
What has changed this season is his pace and his lengths. In the previous two seasons, he bowled 76.4% deliveries under 95 KMPH, while in 2022, only 15.7% have come in that speed range. This season he has given the ball very less air and has hurried the batters, which has not done his numbers any good.
Also, the lengths at which he has bowled this year too have been quite different. In IPL 2020 and 2021, Bishnoi tasted a lot of success when he bowled at the good length (4-6m) area, where he delivered 67% of his balls, which fetched him 19 wickets.
This season though the story has been different. Less than 49% of his deliveries have landed in the good length area, but what has hurt him more is full deliveries (2-4m) – an area where he has bowled 23.7% of his deliveries and has been taken for 11 an over.
It’s perhaps time for him to drop his length back, just a little bit and give the ball more flight. We might see the old Bishnoi back.
Probable XI:
LSG
Avesh Khan missed out due to a niggle and he could be back in the XI if fully fit. Also, of Badoni is promoted to three, there ideally shouldn’t be a place for Pandey in the XI. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to try out either Manan Vohra or Karan Sharma in his place for this game.
Quinton de Kock (wk), KL Rahul (c), Manish Pandey/Manan Vohra/Karan Sharma, Krunal Pandya, Deepak Hooda, Ayush Badoni, Marcus Stoinis, Jason Holder, Dushmantha Chameera, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohsin Khan/Avesh Khan
PBKS
Punjab made a change or two against CSK, but are unlikely to tinker with their combination going into this game
Mayank Agarwal (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Jonny Bairstow, Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Rishi Dhawan, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar, Sandeep Sharma, Arshdeep Singh