Indian T20 League 2024: Rajasthan vs Lucknow, Match 4 - MPL Opinio Prediction

Preview

Rajasthan (RJS) and Lucknow (LUC) will lock horns against each other in the fourth match of the Indian T20 League 2024 on Sunday (March 24) at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur. This will be the first game of the double-header Sunday.

Rajasthan won seven out of 14 matches last season and finished in fifth place in the points table. Lucknow won eight out of 14 games and were in third place. They lost the eliminator game against Mumbai by 81 runs.

Rajasthan traded Devdutt Padikkal to Lucknow and got Avesh Khan in return. They released a total of nine players before heading into the auction. Rajasthan shelled out INR 7.4 crore for Rovman Powell and INR 5.8 crore for Shubham Dubey.

Dubey is a middle-order batter from Vidarbha and scored 221 runs at a strike rate of just under 190 in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy last year. Rajasthan bought Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Abid Mushtaq, and Nandre Burger for their base price. Australian spinner Adam Zampa who was retained by the franchise has made himself unavailable for this season.

Rajasthan has picked Tanush Kotian to replace Zampa. Kotian, the 25-year-old all-rounder from Mumbai scored 502 runs and picked 29 wickets in the recently concluded Ranji Trophy. He won the Player of the Tournament award for this performance.

Lucknow released a total of eight players from the squad before approaching the auction in December last year. They picked Shivam Mavi for INR 6.4 crore and M Siddharth for INR 2.4 crore. Lucknow bought Arshin Kulkarni, Ashton Turner, David Willey, and Mohd. Arshad Khan as well in the auction.

Willey will miss the start of the tournament and won’t be available for this game. The ECB pulled out Mark Wood out of the tournanent to manage his workload. Lucknow has roped in West Indies pacer Shamar Joseph to replace Wood.

Also Check: RJS vs LUC Live Score, Match 4

Rajasthan vs Lucknow Head to Head

Both teams have faced each other thrice in the Indian T20 League so far. Rajasthan have won two matches, while Lucknow have been victorious on one occasion. Lucknow’s first win over Rajasthan came during the last season.

RJS vs LUC Probable Playing XIs

Rajasthan:

Jos Buttler, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson (c & wk), Riyan Parag, Shimron Hetmyer, Dhruv Jurel, Rovman Powell, Ravichandran Ashwin, Trent Boult, Avesh Khan, Yuzvendra Chahal

Lucknow:

Quinton de Kock (wk), Devdutt Padikkal, Nicholas Pooran, KL Rahul (c), Marcus Stoinis, Ayush Badoni, Krunal Pandya, Ravi Bishnoi, Yash Thakur, Mohsin Khan, Shamar Joseph

Watch: Rajasthan vs Lucknow- MPL Opinio Prediction Tips

RJS vs LUC Pitch Report

The surface at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur might remain balanced throughout this match. The average first innings total in the last 10 T20 matches here has been 142 runs. The average wickets lost per inning here has been seven.

The team winning the toss might look to chase here. The pacers are likely to find enough help from the surface than spinners. Rajasthan have won just a single game in their last five outings here, while Lucknow won their only game here last season.

Rajasthan vs Lucknow, Match 4: Today's MPL Opinio Prediction

Rajasthan vs Lucknow Key Player Battles

Sanju Samson vs Lucknow’s bowlers

The skipper of Rajasthan has a strong record against Lucknow’s spinners. He has a batting average of 52 against off-spinners. Samson has a batting strike rate of 212 against Krunal Pandya and has hit 34 runs off 16 deliveries. He has amassed 42 runs against Ravi Bishnoi off 29 deliveries.

Devdutt Padikkal vs Rajasthan’s bowlers

He has been in terrific form recently and made his Test debut as well against England. Padikkal has a batting average of 27 against Sandeep Sharma. His average against slow left-arm orthodox bowlers is 53.

Ravi Bishnoi vs Rajasthan’s batters

He has an economy of just 4.1 against Shimron Hetmyer and has an economy of six against left-handed batters. Bishnoi has taken 45% of his wickets between 12 to 16 overs.

Jos Buttler vs Lucknow’s bowlers

The wicketkeepe-batter has a batting strike rate of 218 against Krunal Pandya and has collected 35 runs against him off 16 deliveries. Buttler has a batting average of 48 in the Powerplay.

Also Check: ITL 2024 Orange Cap

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