Venue: DY Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai
Time: 7:30 PM IST
Average score at venue (1st inns): 169
Win percentage while batting first: 47.37%
Pitch conditions:
- Teams will look to bat first at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai since 3 out of the last 5 matches have been won by sides who were defending.
- Batsmen will look to apply themselves adequately since doing so will promise them strong returns here at this venue.
- With a wicket-share of 71.12%, the fast bowlers will be expected to dominate the proceedings while spinners will have to play the role of fillers given that their share is 28.88%.
Weather prediction:
It will be a typical hot and humid day in Navi Mumbai on Wednesday with the temperature hitting a high of 34°C, but the mercury will drop down to 30°C and a little below that during the match hours late in the evening. The humidity levels will be above 70%.
HEAD-TO-HEAD RECORD (overall):
Matches played: 1
Kolkata won: -
Lucknow won: 1
No result: -
Top 3 players from Kolkata: Shreyas Iyer, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine
Top 3 players from Lucknow: KL Rahul, Quinton de Kock, Mohsin Khan
Top picks for H2H/WTA contest (top 5 players each):
Top 5 players from Kolkata: Shreyas Iyer, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Nitish Rana, Venkatesh Iyer
Top 5 players from H Lucknow: KL Rahul, Quinton de Kock, Mohsin Khan, Avesh Khan, Jason Holder
Q & A:
Fantasy tips and tricks: Should I pick more bowlers, batsmen or all-rounders?
It is a contest between two teams for whom this tournament has not only been different in terms of outcome, but also the one that has given them a clear picture of the future. Lucknow have turned out to be a promising side under the captaincy of KL Rahul who have qualified for the knockouts round in their maiden appearance in the Indian T20 cricket League 2022, whereas Kolkata have paid a huge price of been inconsistent throughout the season, and will have to undergo a rebuilding phase under new captain Shreyas Iyer and a new coach who will replace Brendon McCullum. For this contest, it will be wise to add more to the batting front and to the fast bowling department.
Fantasy tips: From which team should I pick more players in my XI? Which team is stronger?
For the simple reason that Lucknow have been able to qualify for the business end, that is the playoffs for the Indian T20 cricket League 2022 and the former two-time champions Kolkata have failed miserably, the KL Rahul-led team will be expected to have more players featuring in the fantasy cricket playing XI. Lucknow are also the stronger side not just in this contest but also in the tournament for most of the fixtures.
MORE INFORMATION: Even though they have qualified for the knockout round, Lucknow have some areas to address and among the topmost one is their middle-order which has not been firing together. Lucknow have a formidable opening pair in KL Rahul and Quinton De Kock, but beyond that, they haven't had too many batsmen stepping up and contributing heavily apart from Indian all-rounder Deepak Hooda. On the other hand, Kolkata will be without the services of former India Test vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane, who has been ruled out of the remainder of the tournament due to a hamstring injury.
PLAYERS’ FORM: It is time for Lucknow's key players such as KL Rahul, Quinton De Kock, Mohsin Khan, Avesh Khan, Jason Holder and even Marcus Stoinis to step up their game and be ready for the hustle in the matches that are going to come. A special focus would be on Lucknow captain KL Rahul who has recorded three single-digit scores in the last five matches while also scoring 77 in the contest against Delhi. For Kolkata, Shreyas Iyer and Sunil Narine along with Andre Russell will be the key players given that these are the only consistent members of the side in the 2022 edition of the T20 cricket tournament.
Changes in squad (if any): NO
LIKELY XIs:
KOLKATA: Baba Indrajith, Venkatesh Iyer, Shreyas Iyer (c), Sam Billings (wk), Nitish Rana, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Umesh Yadav, Varun Chakraborty, Tim Southee
LUCKNOW: Quinton de Kock (wk), KL Rahul (c), Deepak Hooda, Krunal Pandya, Marcus Stoinis, Ayush Badoni, Jason Holder, Avesh Khan, Mohsin Khan, Dushmantha Chameera, Ravi Bishnoi
FANTASY XI: KL Rahul (c), Quinton de Kock (vc&wk), Venkatesh Iyer, Shreyas Iyer, Deepak Hooda, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Mohsin Khan, Avesh Khan, Jason Holder.
Devarchit Varma is a cricket writer and journalist with an experience of more than a decade, having worked at Hindustan Times (newspaper) and CricketCountry (website). Along with covering international and domestic cricket, he has also interviewed several current and former top players such as Rohit Sharma, Steve Smith, Dale Steyn, Michael Hussey, Jacques Kallis, Brendon McCullum, Shane Watson, Lasith Malinga and many more. He has also worked in other beats as a journalist in Bollywood (Reliance BigOye) and IT (SiliconIndia) industries.
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