LSG faces stern test against CSK bowling
Matheesha Pathirana, with his yorkers, is literally unplayable at the death, while Mustafizur Rahman has at least three variations of cutters, including one with scrambled seam.
CSK players Shivam Dube and Matheesha Pathirana during practice
LUCKNOW: A set of probing questionnaires awaits the Lucknow Super Giants on its home turf as Chennai Super Kings’ bowling unit will look to use its variation to the fullest on a two-paced Ekana Stadium track during their IPL clash here on Friday.
The two teams endured contrasting fortunes in their previous couple of matches. While Ruturaj Gaikwad’s team, still ‘marshalled’ by the peerless Mahendra Singh Dhoni, is coming into the game with back-to-back victories, LSG under KL Rahul has endured a mini-slump with successive defeats. With LSG’s batting unit not exactly inspiring the highest level of confidence despite its firepower, it remains to be seen how it tackles an attack where each bowler brings something different to the table.
Matheesha Pathirana, with his yorkers, is literally unplayable at the death, while Mustafizur Rahman has at least three variations of cutters, including one with scrambled seam.
Ravindra Jadeja, on tracks where the ball grips like it often happens at the Ekana, could be more than a handful. At Lucknow, it could be an option to play the extra spinner in Maheesh Theekshana to make full use of the conditions. The average first innings score in Lucknow this season has been 175, which is at least 15 sub-par compared to some of the other grounds, and this is exactly the kind of total where Dhoni, like the seasoned ‘Concert Master’ of an orchestra team, controls the ‘pitch and tune’.
Lucknow, on the other hand, has had issues with injuries. Its young pace sensation Mayank Yadav had to sit out of the last two games after suffering lower abdominal strain after playing just two and a quarter games.
The 21-year-old has resumed training on Wednesday and his blistering pace could seriously have an impact on the match as most of the other bowlers playing this game are either medium-fast or fast medium. But there is still no clarity if Mayank will be playing on Friday. In the spin department, Ravi Bishnoi has been bowling tight spells, but his one-dimensional skill of bowling one googly after another has been found out as he got only four wickets in the six games so far. Bishnoi vs a rampaging Shivam Dube will be a mouth-watering contest and will add a spicy sub-plot to the main battle. The batting is a bigger issue for LSG as one of its mainstays -- Quinton de Kock, after consecutive half-tons, has hit a rough patch in the previous three games.