On April 28, 2023, at 7:30 PM IST, the Punjab Kings will face the Lucknow Super Giants at the PCA IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali. Both teams have won four out of seven games, and this match is their opportunity to rise up the points table and break away from the middle pack.
The IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali is expected to yield middling scores of around 150 to 170. The cooler temperature with cloudy conditions might favor KL Rahul and Kyle Mayers’ approach in their innings. However, one team is worried about their captain’s striking form, while the other team is struggling with their injured skipper, Shikhar Dhawan.
Punjab Kings have the option of using Sam Curran and Arshdeep Singh to keep left-hander Kyle Mayers quiet in the powerplay, as he has struggled against left-arm pace this season. On the other hand, Lucknow Super Giants’ Nicholas Pooran has been highly successful against left-arm pacers. The death overs contest between him and the duo of Arshdeep Singh and Sam Curran will be interesting.
The probable XI for the Punjab Kings are Atharva Taide, Matthew Short, Harpreet Singh Bhatia, Liam Livingstone, Sam Curran (c), Jitesh Sharma (wk), Shahrukh Khan, Harpreet Brar, Nathan Ellis, Rahul Chahar, and Arshdeep Singh. The impact substitute will be Prabhsimran Singh or Arshdeep Singh, depending on what happens at the toss.
Meanwhile, the Lucknow Super Giants’ probable XI are KL Rahul (c), Kyle Mayers/Quinton de Kock, Deepak Hooda, Marcus Stoinis, Krunal Pandya, Nicholas Pooran (wk), Ayush Badoni, Naveen-ul-Haq, Shivam Mavi, Ravi Bishnoi, and Avesh Khan. The impact substitute will be K Gowtham or Amit Mishra, depending on whether Lucknow Super Giants bat or bowl first.
Injured or unavailable players include Shikhar Dhawan and Kagiso Rabada for Punjab Kings and Mark Wood for Lucknow Super Giants. Quinton de Kock, who is yet to play this season, has struck two fifties in two IPL games in Mohali, striking at a rate of 162.32 at the venue.
Both teams are looking to move up the points table, and this match will determine which team can break away from the middle pack.
