Lucknow Super Giants will need to improve their batting in order to secure their first victory of the season against the dynamic Sunrisers Hyderabad in a challenging away IPL match in Hyderabad on Sunday.
After regaining their batting form to score 226/8 and defeating Kolkata Knight Riders by 65 runs at the Eden Gardens, SRH is full of confidence going into their first home game of the season.
LSG will face an even greater struggle when they return to Uppal, where conditions are predicted to favor stroke-play in an afternoon match. SRH will undoubtedly start as favorites due to their momentum and favorable home environment, while LSG will have a difficult road ahead of them.
After making the play-offs in their first two seasons, LSG have had a downturn in recent years, ending seventh in the last couple of years. This season’s campaign has not started off well and they are not suffering from a shortage of resources.
With captain Rishabh Pant, South Africa’s Aiden Markram, Australia T20 captain Mitchell Marsh, and the explosive Nicholas Pooran, the Justin Langer-coached team has a strong batting line-up. However, obvious problems were revealed as they collapsed for 141 in less than 19 overs in their IPL opener against Delhi Capitals at their home ground in Ekana.
Additionally, LSG’s tactical adjustments backfired as they promoted India’s out-of-favor keeper-batter Pant to the top, moving away from their established opening tandem of Marsh and Markram. The argument over Pant’s best batting position was rekindled when he scored just 7 before being run out.
It’s possible that he may return to the No. 3 spot, where he scored a century and had success in 2025. Pooran has also performed well in that capacity, but the Windies star might have to cover the middle overs.
The only bright spot was Marsh, who got off to a good start before falling for 35 to a deceptively slow delivery, underscoring LSG’s failure to turn promising starts into significant scores once more. It would be wise for LSG to reinstate the Marsh-Markram opening combination and let Pant move into the middle order because their batting is missing coherence.
Their greatest asset was the bowling unit. In their last match, Mohammed Shami and rookie pacer Prince Yadav turned back the clock with a classic new-ball session that reduced Delhi to 26/4 inside the power play.
However, LSG was unable to maintain the pace in the middle overs, and another tactical decision—omitting their top wicket-taker (14) from the previous season, mystery leg-spinner Digvesh Rathi—came under fire. It is unclear if LSG will survive without a frontline wrist-spinner on what is anticipated to be a flat Uppal surface.
In contrast, SRH seems to have found their rhythm following an IPL opening loss to reigning champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru. Against KKR, their batting unit worked well together, with Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head regaining their form at the top.
Heinrich Klaasen’s experience is still crucial to their middle-order solidity, as demonstrated by his calm half-century in Kolkata, and skipper Ishan Kishan, who is leading in Pat Cummins’ absence, has also shown positive indications. Another significant worry for LSG is SRH’s batting depth.
India all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy made an impression with his all-around performance, taking important wickets with deft variations while Harsh Dubey used spin to maintain control. As KKR were bowled out for 161 in 16 overs, the speed duo of Jaydev Unadkat and Ehsan Malinga supplemented the effort by taking five wickets between them. SRH’s attack dispelled the idea that it is a weak team.
Sunrisers Hyderabad Probable XI: Ishan Kishan (captain), Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, Heinrich Klaasen, Smaran Ravichandran, Aniket Verma, Harsh Dubey, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harsh Dubey, David Payne, Jaydev Unadkat
Lucknow Super Giants Probable XI: Rishabh Pant (captain), Mitchell Marsh, Aiden Markram, Ayush Badoni, Nicholas Pooran, Abdul Samad, Shahbaz Ahmed, Mohammed Shami, Anrich Nortje, Digvesh Rathi, Prince Yadav
