Arjun Tendulkar and Matheesha Pathirana in frame. Image Credit: ANI and X
LSG vs KKR Impact Player: Kolkata Knight Riders finally got their first win of the season against the Rajasthan Royals in their previous game. However, with a wait of one week, a lot has changed for the three-time champions. Their much-awaited pacer, Matheesha Pathirana, has joined the ranks and is expected to make it into the playing XI straight away. With the arrival of the Sri Lankan pacer, the Knight Riders will need to modify their overseas combination. Meanwhile, Lucknow Super Giants have lost four games on the trot and would be looking to make some changes. Their batting order has been criticised for a lack of depth. To tackle this, one of their bowlers might have to make way for an all-rounder. Will LSG go with George Linde or Arjun Tendulkar? It is yet to be seen.
Both Lucknow Super Giants and Kolkata Knight Riders are expected to make some changes in their playing XIs. With LSG losing four games on the trot and their slim batting order getting exposed, the Super Giants would know there needs to be some tough calls that have to be taken. It is the bowlers for the Rishabh Pant-led side that have been pretty useful. However, with the batting order lacking depth, one of them would have to be dropped to get in an all-rounder. Lucknow Super Giants could go for either an overseas player like George Linde or Arjun Tendulkar as an impact player.
On the other hand, KKR will be relieved with the arrival of Matheesha Pathirana. The right-arm pacer will certainly bolster their bowling department. However, with him being an overseas player, the Knight Riders would have to make some changes in their combination. In their last game, Tim Seifert, Cameron Green, Rovman Powell, and Sunil Narine played as overseas players. With Narine being a lynchpin with the ball in hand, he is undroppable. Green and Powell have been solid with the bat in hand in the last few games. It could be Seifert, who was dismissed for a golden duck, making way for KKR impact player, Matheesha Pathirana.
Tim Seifert, despite playing only a couple of games in the season, seems to be in the firing line to be dropped and make way for Matheesha Pathirana. The Kiwi batter scored 19 runs in his first game of the season, before being dismissed for a golden duck in the last game against the Rajasthan Royals. With Pathirana coming back into the playing XI, the Sri Lankan pacer will be expected to play as the impact player in the LSG vs KKR clash. Seifert’s opening position will be up for grabs, and it could be taken up by Sunil Narine, who will partner up with KKR captain, Ajinkya Rahane.
Mayank Yadav, making his return to the playing XI, did not have the best of a start to the season. The right-arm speedster was taken to the cleaners by the Rajasthan Royals. He went for 56 runs in his four overs. With the slim batting order of LSG, the Rishabh Pant-led side could be making a change to add an all-rounder. They could go with a straight swap with Arjun Tendulkar replacing him. An overseas option would be to drop Yadav and bring in George Linde in the playing XI.
Lucknow Super Giants Playing XI: Mitchell Marsh, Ayush Badoni, Rishabh Pant (C, wk), Aiden Markram, Nicholas Pooran, Himmat Singh, George Linde/ Arjun Tendulkar, Mukul Choudhary, Digvesh Rathi, Mohammed Shami, Prince Yadav
LSG Impact Player: Mohsin Khan
Lucknow Super Giants Playing XI: Ajinkya Rahane (C), Sunil Narine, Angkrish Raghuvanshi (wk), Cameron Green, Rovman Powell, Rinku Singh, Anukul Roy, Ramandeep Singh, Kartik Tyagi, Varun Chakravarthy, Vaibhav Arora
KKR Impact Player: Matheesha Pathirana
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