Can Rahul and LSG begin their new journey with a bang?

Overview

Among the more than 3,000 runs scored in the IPL, KL Rahul has the highest average of 47.43 and he has scored runs with a healthy batting average of 136.37. His first three years in the IPL, his first year with Royal Challengers Bangalore, and his next two years with Sunrisers Hyderabad were nothing special. "KL Rahul has never been seen as a T20 expert," former RCB captain Virat Kohli said on the RCB podcast. But Kohli also acknowledged the transformation of Rahul, one of the top runners in recent years.

But for SRH, RCB, or Punjab, for which he has scored 500 runs in four consecutive seasons - twice as a leader - Rahul has not won the IPL title. Will winning the IPL change his fortunes? Does Lucknow lead the Super Giants?

No strangers to the Super Giants IPL, Sanjeev Goenka's Pune team participated in the bridging arrangement in the 2016 and 2017 editions, even before losing a close match against Mumbai Indians in 2017 final. Rahul wants to be high for a memorable start to his new journey.

Common League Stage Venue

The Super Giants will play 11 matches in Mumbai: four at Wankhede Stadium, four at Brabourne Stadium, and three at DY Patil Stadium. He is scheduled to play three matches at the MCA Stadium in Pune. Super Giants MI in Virtual Group A, Kolkata Knight Riders, Rajasthan Royals, Delhi Capitals, and two other Gujarat Titans in the same row during the first game will play two matches each. All matches against the other four teams.

How was the performance in the auction?

In addition to Rahul, the Super Giants selected Marcus Stoinis and Ravi Bishnoi as their other two pre-auction purchases and entered the mega-auction in INR for the prize money. Rs. At 59 59 million, he covered both land conservation and early stages, including Quinton de Kok at the start of the auction, and contributed to the Indian experience as his second purchase with Manish Pandey. Improving their first early XI was an immediate focus for the Super Giants, who were involved in the selection of quality players who largely completed their roster with off-roaders. While Krunal Pandya, Deepak Hooda, and K Gautam were their entire Indian buyers, Jason Holder and Kyle Meyers were the overseas selections of the Super Giants.

The Super Giants, first with Mark Wood and then with Dushmantha Chamira, set their Rhythm division on fire. His biggest purchase in the auction was reserved for Avesh Khan, who was picked up by INR. 100 million but Wood has been ruled out of the tournament due to an elbow injury (the Super Giants have not yet decided on revenge). The fact is that Bishnoi, who plays mostly Googles, is the only turning point of the team, the supergiants could have served better if he had an extra-leg twist in the front row.

Strengths and weaknesses

With a team full of all-rounders, the Super Giants don't have to worry about the depth of their lineup. They also have a good batting line-up with famous Indian and foreign names. Chief among them is Rahul, who has scored 2548 runs at an average of 56.62 since IPL 2018, which includes more than 25 fifty points (including Beso). In Avesh and Holder, the Super Giants have two bowlers who can contribute. The game of both power and death is over. In IPL 2021, Avash has taken 6 power-play wickets and 12 kill wickets in T20 cricket till 2020, while Holder has 22 power-play wickets and 40 kill-change wickets.

The biggest concern for the supergiants will be how their top order compares to the spin. Although Rahul and De Kok are both great hitters and Pandey is able to anchor the innings, he has all his shortcomings against slow pitchers. From IPL 2019, Rahul's strike rate has come down to 111.9. Spin with a margin percentage of 7.5, while Pandey's 114.6 strike rate with a margin percentage of 10.2 gave the opponent a chance to turn things around to take back the middle overs. De Kock's batting average of 100 against the effects of the 2018 IPL is an obstacle for Achilles and the teams are ready to start spinning against him. Another concern for the Super Giants is Kunal, who has averaged 16.11 and 119.18 in the last three IPL seasons. He has taken just 23 wickets in 45 matches at a batting average of 42.61, a potential threat to the team until he regains form. The Super Giants will also miss the services of some of their overseas players at the start of the season, with Stoinis, Holder, and Meyers not expected to be available until April.

See strategy

Given Stoinis' ability to break orders, the supergiants can afford some flexibility with their hitting lineup. Rahul's batting rate has been up and down in recent sessions, but the batting side, which is full of anchoring and offensive options, will have the freedom to play the game and not have to worry about long tails, as his main concern was. Theme. . Playing for the Punjab team.

Watch the players

Despite being only 21 years old, Ravi Bishnoi has been making a lot of noise for a long time. That the Lucknow team decided to catch him before the auction which he had brought for him. Emerging player of IPL 2020, Bishnoi's 12 wickets was the second-best wicket for Kings XI Punjab this season. He took the same number of wickets in the 2021 edition with an average of 19.16 and an economy of 6.38. He recently scored 2-17 in his first match against the West Indies, in which he was also declared Man of the Match, making his T20I debut for India. Indian selectors president Chetan Sharma said of the spinner doll competition in India: "It is a headache for the management. This should be the second chance for a Rajasthan player to look forward to the Twenty20 World Cup later this year.

Best XI: KL Rahul (c), Quinton de Kock (wk), Manish Pandey, Marcus Stoinis, Krunal Pandya, Deepak Hooda, Jason Holder, K Gowtham/Shahbaz Nadeem, Ravi Bishnoi, Dushmantha Chameera, Avesh Khan