IPL 2024 SRH v LSG Preview - Both sides looking to get playoff bid back on track

Key match stats

Pitch Stats – IPL records at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium

Pitch stats from the 10 most recent IPL matches played at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium

Team form SRH vs LSG
SRH: WLLWL
LSG: WWLWL

Recent meetings: IPL 2023 - LSG won by 7 wickets, LSG won by 5 wickets

Weather

General Forecast: Dry and Clear
Chance of dew: Moderate

Preview SRH vs LSG

This match represents a massive fixture in both teams hopes of making it into the top 4. With defeats in their most recent matches and a general lack of consistency over the last few weeks, neither side can afford defeat in Hyderabad.

I'm writing this blog ahead of The Royals visit to Delhi, the result of which will have a significant impact on the number of teams competing for the playoffs. A Rajasthan win would leave it as a 3 horse race between these 2 sides and CSK for 3rd & 4th, while a Capitals victory would open it at the top and leave the tantalising prospect that the LSG vs DC match scheduled on 17 May might in essence become a knockout game.

Sunrisers will be pretty disappointed with their overall performance against MI. There was always going to be a significant advantage to the side that batted second at the Wankhede but SRH left themselves short of runs. An excellent bowling performance was always going to be necessary to defend 174 and despite having Mumbai 31 for 3, SRH gave away a lot of easy runs in the first couple of overs.

Thereafter, the continued lack of a frontline spin bowler left their attack without a huge amount of variation. We wait to see whether that particular weakness can be exposed now that they are back home at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium for their final 3 matches. The pitch report for the Rajiv Gandi stadium shows no discernible difference in the performance of pace vs spin.

For their part, LSG were left licking their wounds following an absolute mauling at the hands of KKR at the weekend. No side had ever scored 200+ in an IPL innings in Lucknow so when KKR smashed 235, it was always likely to be a difficult chase. The Super Giants now find themselves on the road for their final 3 matches with trips to Delhi and Mumbai to follow this one.

A couple of factors that are certainly in LSG's favour for this match are the very tight turnaround for the Sunrisers following their game in Mumbai on Monday night. In fact, this will the home team's 3rd game in 7 days and a few of their star players who have been involved throughout the season including Cummins, Bhuvi and Abhishek Sharma might just start to feel a little jaded.

Equally important is the fact that SRH have never beaten LSG! Ok, it's a relatively small sample size of 3 games but Lucknow have completed fairly routine victories at 3 different venues each time these 2 have met since 2022.

So far this season, teams have favoured winning the toss and batting first at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium. 3 of the 4 games played here in IPL 2024 have been won by the side batting first and all 3 occassions we've seen scores in excess of 200. The exception to the rule was CSK's 1st innings score of 165, a total that the Sunrisers cruised to with 11 balls to spare.

SRH LSG head to head

LSG bowling vs SRH batting

LSG don't have a frontline seamer who has bowled in a T20 game at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium! Given what we've seen from the Sunrisers batsmen in the powerplay this season, I think they know what they can expect from the surface and the intent to score but can they adapt to the correct line and length quickly enough?

The weakest link. Combined IPL 2024 batting stats for Markram, Tripathi, Agarwal and Singh

In fact, there is generally not a huge amount of head to head data between these 2 sides to draw upon. Of SRH batsmen, only Rahul Tripathi and Mayank Agarwal have faced more than 20 deliveries from any LSG bowler in their careers and it's debatable whether either will feature in this match.

Agarwal returned for the game against MI but failed once again while Tripathi hasn't been seen since for the first week of the tournament. The emergence of Nitish Reddy has helped solved part of the equation for Sunrisers' middle order but they've struggled to find a partner for him as the stats above show.

SRH right-handed batsmen head to head vs Krunal Pandya

The other concern for SRH in this game is the potential match-up of Krunal Pandya against their right-hand dominant middle order. If Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head are out early then expect LSG to look to utilise that head to head immediately.

SRH bowling vs LSG batting

KL Rahul continues to be the prize wicket for any side playing against LSG. Lucknow were 70 for 1 before his dismisal against KKR and subsequently collapsed to 137 all out, losing 9 wickets in 51 balls! The good news then for LSG fans is that none of SRH's attack have had a huge amount of success in getting him out cheaply in the past.

KL Rahul head to head vs current SRH squad

The decision to reintroduce Marco Jansen into the SRH attack appears to have back fired. The gangly South African has bowled a combined 10 overs 1 for 129 in IPL 2024 and looks completely devoid of confidence. It's likely then that'll we see Jayant Unadkat reintroduced to the playing XI for this one if nothing else due to his impressive IPL record at Rajiv Gandhi Stadium.

Unadkat IPL record Rajiv Gandhi Stadium

Another player who appears to enjoy batting here is Nicolas Pooran. SRH might have hoped to utilised that record when they signed the West Indian in for the 2022 season but he ultimately never played in Hyderabad due to Covid restrictions and neutral venues. Pooran hit 44 from 13 balls to lead LSG to victory here last season. In fact, of the last 20 balls he's faced at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium he's deposited 12 of them to or over the boundary!

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All stats used in this blog are from my own databases which are freely accessible below
IPL player head to head records
IPL player records by stadium
IPL stadium records.
Images are my own with the exception of player profiles and highlights within GIFs which are not intended to infringe copyright- read full disclaimer. Background images are used under a creative commons license or otherwise royalty free.