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Third-placed Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) take on Delhi Capitals (DC) as KL Rahul-led side won the toss and elected to bat first in their IPL clash at the Wankhede stadium on Sunday (May 1).
As far as playing XIs are concerned, Rishabh Pant made no changes to his side while Rahul dropped Avesh Khan to bring in K Gowtham to the Lucknow side.
"We are going to bat first. Looks a good wicket, put some runs on the board and defend it. Try and go out there, put a par total on the board and back our bowlers. Mistakes do happen, we just had a honest chat that we could have been smarter. It happens under pressure, spoke about that and guys are honest to accept their mistakes. Avesh Khan misses out and Gowtham comes in. Didn't want to play Avesh back-to-back," LSG captain Rahul said after the toss.
"The wicket is looking on the slower wicket. We are always trying to improve. You got to take positives and move forward. We are playing with the same team. He (Nortje) is coming off nicely," DC skipper Pant said before the match.
Delhi have endured a tough couple of weeks with a mini COVID outbreak in their camp and a no-ball controversy, however, Rishabh Pant and his troops came out from it to march to a four-wicket win over Kolkata Knight Riders. While the win boosted the Capitals’, who are sixth on the points table, playoff chances, the middle order collapse while chasing an easy total will be a cause of concern.
LSG, meanwhile, are on course to sealing a playoffs berth, sitting at number three on the points table with six wins from nine outings. However, LSG will hope they can breakaway from the overdependence on captain Rahul, who has been in sublime form.
Pitch report
"It's an absolutely beautiful day, not a cloud in the sky. It looks like a beautiful wicket. On this wicket, we are starting to see a trend, we are seeing the best spinners be a little bit braver. By a little bit braver, I mean they are starting to slow up - 75-90 km/h, you are starting to see more wickets taken. You got to be brave to bowl that speed and you obviously got to mix your lines and lengths. The bravest are surviving and the bravest are up for the fight. The wicket looks okay, 160-170 (will be a par-score)," Kevin Pietersen analyses the Wankhede pitch.
Lucknow Super Giants' Playing XI:
Quinton de Kock(w), KL Rahul(c), Deepak Hooda, Marcus Stoinis, Ayush Badoni, Krunal Pandya, Krishnappa Gowtham, Jason Holder, Dushmantha Chameera, Mohsin Khan, Ravi Bishnoi.
Delhi Capitals' Playing XI:
Prithvi Shaw, David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Rishabh Pant(w/c), Lalit Yadav, Rovman Powell, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Mustafizur Rahman, Chetan Sakariya.
