Lucknow Super Giants vs Punjab Kings Predictions: Lucknow will be high on confidence with last ball win against RCB

Playing in their fifth game of the season Lucknow Super Giants will welcome Punjab Kings in the 21st game of the season at Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow on 15th April. Lucknow will be confident with the last-ball win against RCB and Punjab is coming into the game with two consecutive defeats. Who will win this game?

Lucknow Super Giants

The Lucknow Super Giants have started the season well with three wins out of four matches, placing them comfortably in the top four. Initially, their batting did not meet expectations, but batsmen like KL Rahul, Marcus Stoinis, and Nicholas Pooran have improved and made the team a strong batting unit. The team's all-rounders, such as Ayush Badoni and Krunal Pandya, provide further depth to the batting line-up.

For Lucknow to have a good start, Kyle Mayers, who had played excellent innings earlier this season, will need to repeat his performance. With Mark Wood returning to the playing XI, the seam attack appears well-balanced. However, Avesh Khan and Jaydev Unadkat conceded too many runs in the previous match against RCB, so the team needs to address this issue.

Ravi Bishnoi and Amit Mishra form an impressive spin attack, and Rahul will depend on them to bowl tight overs in the middle of the innings and restrict the opposing team's score. 

Lucknow Super Giants Predicted Lineup

KL Rahul (c), Kyle Mayers, Deepak Hooda, Marcus Stoinis, Krunal Pandya, Nicholas Pooran (wk), Jaydev Unadkat, Amit Mishra, Avesh Khan, Mark Wood, Ravi Bishnoi

Punjab Kings

After beginning with two consecutive wins, the Punjab Kings have now dropped down to the lower half of the points table after losing two consecutive matches.Apart from Shikhar Dhawan, the batsmen have been inconsistent, which has been the team's Achilles heel. Prabhsimran Singh has suffered back-to-back ducks, and he will need to perform soon.

Bhanuka Rajapaksa and Matthew Short showed promise in the previous match but failed to convert their starts into significant scores. Sam Curran, one of the season's most expensive players, has not performed well with either the bat or the ball. Arshdeep Singh has been the pick of the bowlers, taking 7 wickets, but he has received little support from the other end.

Harpreet Brar has been economical but has failed to take wickets, which is a similar story with Rahul Chahar, the only specialist spinner in the team. However, the arrival of Kagiso Rabada should provide a positive impact going forward.

Punjab Kings Predicted Lineup

Prabhsimran Singh, Shikhar Dhawan (c), Matthew Short, Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Sam Curran, Shahrukh Khan, Harpreet Brar, Kagiso Rabada, Rishi Dhawan, Arshdeep Singh

Expert betting tips

The pitch at the Ekana Stadium is a bit tricky to bat on due to the patchy grass, and the ball may experience low or inconsistent bounce. Batsmen will need to settle down before attempting to play big shots. It will be difficult to chase any score over 170 here. Sunrisers Hyderabad could only manage to score 121/8 in the first innings and Lucknow chased down the target in 16 overs. We expect Lucknow to ride on the momentum from the last game and can go on to first place in the table.