Indian T20 League 2023

Match 68: KOL vs LUC

Preview 

It's a must-win game for both sides when 2-time IND T20 League winner Kolkata square off against Lucknow in the 68th league match. This match is scheduled to take place at Eden Gardens Stadium, Kolkata on Saturday, May 20 at 07:30 PM. Both franchises will be heading for this match with a win in their last league match. The Hosts KOL defeated 4-time league winner CHE in the last game to keep hopes alive for a berth in the playoffs and needs a big win in this match. The Visitors LUC comes into this contest with a win over 5-time league winner MUM, and Lucknow looks in good form.

KOL stands 7th in the points table after winning 6 matches out of 13 games, on the other side, LUC holds third place in the league tally with 7 wins out of 13 matches. If Nitish Rana-led Kolkata defeats LUC in this encounter, KOL has a slight chance to qualify for playoffs, considering other results will go in the Hosts' way. So, both KOL and LUC will give their best in this match at Eden Gardens. However, the Hosts have to win this match by a huge margin to push their net run rate positive. On their counterpart, a win would be enough for Krunal Pandya-led Lucknow to secure the playoffs berth, and likely to finish in the top 2 as well.

For KOL, both the left-handed batters Rinku Singh(54) and skipper Nitish Rana(57) were the chief architects for their side in the last match against CHE. Also, Kolkata has some world-class players in their line-up like Andre Russell, Jason Roy, Venkatesh Iyer, and Varun Chakravarthy. The veteran spinner Sunil Narine also returned to form by picking up 2 for 15 and the mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy did not disappoint either, having accounted for two crucial scalps for 36 runs.

For LUC, Marcus Stoinis pummeled 89 off 47 balls smashing 4 fours and 8 huge maximums in his bolster knock against MUM. But with Rohit Sharma-led Mumbai needing 11 runs to win off the last over, the left-arm pacer Mohsin Khan's well-oiled death bowling snatched the match from the Visitors' hands. The 24-year-old seamer who recently recovered from a shoulder injury, gave away only five runs in the last over to secure a win for Lucknow. LUC has some finest players in the ranks, like Quinton de Kock, Krunal Pandya, Marcus Stoinis, and Nicholas Pooran.

LUC had the upper hand when they faced Kolkata last year, the side winning both matches, adding to their confidence. Krunal Pandya-led side has a batting line-up in good form and shall look to capitalize on it. The Hosts have done well in recent games but haven't done well at home. With both sides eying a berth in the playoffs, we expect this to be a close contest on Saturday. 

Match Details

Match: KOL vs LUC, 68th Match, Indian T20 League 2023

Date: Saturday, May 20, 2023

Time: 7:30 PM

Venue: Eden Gardens Stadium, Kolkata

Pitch and Weather Report

This ground is well known for its deep boundaries and flat surface, and this evens out the contest between the bat and the ball here at Eden Gardens. The track is flat enough, allowing batters to hit the ariel route. The seamers have been successful, and spinners also enjoy bowling at this venue as the deep boundaries offer blowers additional protection.

The last 3 matches have gone in favour of the sides that have chased the score at Eden Gardens. Over the years, the sides chasing the scores have won more games on this pitch. The side batting first will need 180 runs on the board to feel confident on this track.

The maximum temperature will remain at 36°C, with a low of 29°C with 68% humidity and a wind speed of 21 Km/hr for the 68th Match, the IND T20 League on May 20 b/w KOL vs LUC. The weather in Eden Gardens Stadium is expected to be mostly sunny on the match day.

KOL vs LUC Squads

KOL: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Venkatesh Iyer, Nitish Rana (c), Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Shardul Thakur, Vaibhav Arora, Harshit Rana, Suyash Sharma, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jason Roy, Anukul Roy, N Jagadeesan, Lockie Ferguson, Kulwant Khejroliya, Mandeep Singh, Tim Southee, David Wiese, Umesh Yadav, Aarya Desai

LUC: Quinton de Kock (wk), Kyle Mayers, Krunal Pandya (c), Prerak Mankad, Marcus Stoinis, Nicholas Pooran, Amit Mishra, Yash Thakur, Ravi Bishnoi, Yudhvir Singh Charak, Avesh Khan, Swapnil Singh, Daniel Sams, Ayush Badoni, Deepak Hooda, Arpit Guleria, Mohsin Khan, Mark Wood, Romario Shepherd, Karun Nair, Naveen-ul-Haq, Manan Vohra, Krishnappa Gowtham, Karan Sharma

KOL vs LUC Probable Playing XIs

Match Prediction

The hosts KOL come here with a win, but Nitish Ran-led side has struggled with the form of its starting batting unit. KOL will need runs at the top and expect the bowlers to execute its plans to win this match at home. Lucknow is in excellent form with the bat, and Krunal Pandya-led side never lost a game against KOL. We say LUC to win this match.

Top Fantasy Picks

Nitish Rana: The left-handed batter has an average of 59 match fantasy points in the last 11 games, a fantasy rating of 10 and can be a good pick for your Team. In the last 5 matches, skipper Rana has scored 51, 42, 4, 48 and 57 runs averaging 40.2 per match. He scored a match-winning 57 in the last match against CHE.

Varun Chakaravarthy: The mystery bowler has an average of 37 match fantasy points in the last 11 games, a fantasy rating of 7.9 and is a high-risk, high-returns player for your Fantasy Team. He took 2 for 36 in the last match against MS Dhoni-led Chennai.

Marcus Stoinis: He registered his highest score in the IND T20 League by finishing unbeaten on 89 off 47 balls against MUM. His smashing knock guided LUC to win that match by 5 runs. The Aussie all-rounder is in red-hot form in the 16th edition of the league.

Ravi Bishnoi: The leg-spinner has been the prime bowler for the team with 14 wickets for his side LUC. He scalped two wickets in the last game against MUM while giving 26 runs in his full quota.

Risky Captaincy Choice

Rinku Singh: The left-handed batter is in excellent form this season and is the top scorer for KOL. In 12 matches for his side, he has scored 353 runs at an excellent average of 50.43 with a blistering strike rate of 146.47. He loves to play at this ground which is one of his favourite hunting grounds as Rinku has scored a total of 213 runs at an average of 71.00. He is our pick-up player for this segment.

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