LSG teetering on the brink; Head a doubt for SRH after testing positive for Covid
A defeat against SRH on Monday will knock LSG out of playoffs contention
Shashank Kishore
18-May-2025 • 8 hrs ago
Big picture: SRH look to spoil LSG's playoffs chances
LSG need to win each of their three remaining games and also hope other results go their way. They're in this position having lost four of their last five matches.
Much of LSG's slide stems from a faltering middle order. Rishabh Pant's form has been poor, while David Miller, once a match-winner for GT, has also struggled as a finisher. This has left them heavily reliant on Abdul Samad and Ayush Badoni to finish the innings. But LSG's troubles don't end there.
Their bowling hasn't offered much respite either. LSG have the worst economy rate in the powerplay this season. Shardul Thakur has faded away, Akash Deep has struggled since his return from injury, and Mayank Yadav, once billed as their X-factor, lasted only two games before breaking down. Uncapped legspinner Digvesh Rathi has been the lone bright spot.
As for SRH, last season's runners-up, they have endured a steep decline. The once-feared opening duo of Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma, whose blitz set the tone in 2024, has struggled to deliver similar impact, with their average partnerships and strike rates dipping.
Nitish Kumar Reddy, a key retention, has hit the second-season slump. Heinrich Klaasen and Pat Cummins, so central to their 2024 run, have also been far less influential. Compounding their woes is a spin department that has offered little control or threat. Rookie Zeeshan Ansari, with six wickets, is their top wicket-taker among spinners and as a unit, their spin economy rate of 9.9 is the worst in the league. These are way too many problems for a team that was billed as title-contenders.
So, while the stakes may differ, both sides share the desperation of having to win.
Form Guide
Lucknow Super Giants LLLWL (Last five games, most recent first)
Sunrisers Hyderabad NRLWLL
Sunrisers Hyderabad NRLWLL
In the spotlight: Pant, Kishan and Shami
The ten-day break couldn't have come at a better time for Rishabh Pant. He averages just 12.8 across ten innings this season, with six single-digit scores. Against Delhi Capitals last month, he batted at No. 7, lower than both Samad and impact-player Badoni, with just two balls left in the innings. Among batters who've faced at least 100 balls this season, Pant has both the lowest average and strike rate.
SRH's marquee auction picks Ishan Kishan and Mohammed Shami have had poor seasons. Kishan has tailed off rapidly after starting the season with a century. Since then, he averages just 11.3, having crossed 30 just once in his last nine innings. Meanwhile, Shami, who claimed 48 wickets across 2022 and 2023 for Gujarat Titans, has just six this season at an economy of 11.2. He hasn't completed his quota in six of the nine matches. His powerplay impact has also dipped significantly. Can the pair help SRH finish the season well?
Team news and probable XII
New Zealand fast bowler Will O'Rourke has replaced Mayank Yadav. LSG's only other absentee is Shamar Joseph, who hadn't featured in a single game this season.
Lucknow Super Giants (probable): 1 Aiden Markram, 2 Mitchell Marsh, 3 Nicholas Pooran, 4 Rishabh Pant (capt, wk), 5 Ayush Badoni, 6 David Miller, 7 Abdul Samad, 8 Ravi Bishnoi, 9 Shardul Thakur, 10 Digvesh Rathi, 11 Prince Yadav, 12 Avesh Khan
Head tested positive for Covid-19 in Australia and will arrive in India only on the morning of the match. His availability, according to head coach Daniel Vettori, will be assessed after that. Wiaan Mulder is their only overseas absentee though it's a minor loss as he's played just one match this season. Kishan could be pushed up a opener if Head doesn't play, Sachin Baby or Harsh Dubey could fit into the middle order. Jaydev Unadkat will miss the fixture owing to personal reasons.
Sunrisers Hyderabad (probable): 1 Ishan Kishan (wk), 2 Abhishek Sharma, 3 Sachin Baby, 4 Heinrich Klaasen, 5 Nitish Reddy, 6 Aniket Verma, 7 Kamindu Mendis, 8 Pat Cummins, 9 Jaydev Unadkat, 10 Harshal Patel, 11 Mohammed Shami, 12 Zeeshan Ansari
The Big Question
Pitch and conditions
Uttar Pradesh is in the grip of a heatwave, with temperatures sometimes soaring past 40 degrees Celsius. Spinners have played a key role in the last two matches at this venue. The previous game here was on April 22, giving the curator ample time to prepare the surface.
Stats and trivia
- Since IPL 2024, no one has hit more sixes than Nicholas Pooran (70) and Abhishek Sharma (59). Abhishek (194) and Pooran (188) have the highest strike rates among those who have scored over 500 runs in this period.
- LSG have been the most expensive bowling unit in the powerplay this season, conceding at 10.5 an over. SRH are the second worst at 10.1.
- With Pant out of form, LSG's reliance on Miller the finisher has been even higher. But he hasn't been at his best, as his strike rate of 135 in the death overs suggests. It's the lowest among batters who've faced 50 or more deliveries.
- The ten wickets taken by SRH are the least by a spin attack this season.
Shashank Kishore is a senior correspondent at ESPNcricinfo