The Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur is going to play host to match No. 4 of the Indian Premier League 2024 between Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) on Sunday, March 24.
The home side is going to be led once again by Sanju Samson. Under his captaincy, the Royals missed a playoff berth by a whisker last season as they finished fifth on the table with seven wins and as many losses from 14 games. In fact, the inaugural champions won four out of their first five matches and only three out of their next nine.
Lucknow Super Giants made their debut in IPL 2022 and have managed to qualify for the playoffs in the last two seasons. Last year, they finished third on the points table, tied on points with the Chennai Super Kings. However, the eventual champions played in the Qualifier 1 due to their superior net run rate and the Super Giants had to be content with a spot in the Eliminator. They lost that game to Mumbai Indians and crashed out of the tournament.
Both teams have bolstered their squad during the auction and will look to start off with a win. Fans can expect an intriguing clash on Sunday.
Match Details:
| Match | Rajasthan Royals vs Lucknow Super Giants, IPL 2024 |
|---|---|
| Venue | Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur |
| Date & Time | Sunday, March 24, 3:30 PM (IST) |
Pitch Report: The Sawai Mansingh Stadium is a favourable venue for batters. Last year in the IPL, five matches had been played at this stadium. Three games were won by teams batting first, while chasing teams won twice. The average first-innings score was 172. One of the best games of the season was played at this venue on May 7 between Rajasthan Royals and Sunrisers Hyderabad. The visitors chased down a 215-run target as Abdul Samad hit a six off the final delivery. The size of the boundaries are decent and that is one thing that will comfort the bowlers.
RR vs LSG Head-to-Head Record
| Matches Played | Rajasthan Royals won | Lucknow Super Giants Won | No Result | First Played | Last Played |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | Apr 10, 2022 | Apr 19, 2023 |
RR vs LSG Probable Playing XIs Rajasthan Royals: Jos Buttler, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson (c/wk), Rovman Powell, Dhruv Jurel, Riyan Parag, Ravichandran Ashwin, Nandre Burger, Trent Boult, Yuzvendra Chahal, Avesh Khan Lucknow Super Giants: Kyle Mayers, Devdutt Padikkal, Ayush Badoni, Nicholas Pooran (wk), KL Rahul (c), Marcus Stoinis, Krunal Pandya, Ravi Bishnoi, Naveen-ul-Haq, Yash Thakur, Mohsin Khan
Probable Best Players of the Match Probable Best Batter: Yashasvi Jaiswal came of age in the IPL last year as he finished as the fifth-highest run-getter in the tournament with 625 runs from 14 matches at an average of 48.08 and a strike rate of 163.61. He has gone on to represent India in Tests as well as T20Is and sealed his spot with sensational performances. Jaiswal will be high on confidence after finishing as the leading run-getter in the recent Test series against England. Rajasthan fans will be hoping for the southpaw to have another solid season at the top.
Probable Best Bowler: Yuzvendra Chahal is fighting for his place in the Indian T20 side with Ravi Bishnoi, who will also be playing in this encounter. The experienced wrist spinner has a phenomenal record in the IPL and he would hope to push for a spot in the T20 World Cup squad with a strong performance in the cash-rich league. In 2023, he took 21 wickets from 14 matches at 20.57. However, most of his wickets came in the first half of the competition. Chahal’s four overs will be very crucial for Rajasthan and it would be intriguing to see how Samson uses him.
Today’s Match Prediction: Team bowling first to win the match
