IPL 2023: LSG drop Naveen-ul-Haq to include South African superstar in playing XI, GT also make one forced change

Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) captain Krunal Pandya won the toss and elected to bowl against Gujarat Titans (GT) on May 7 (Sunday).

SportsTak

• Sun • 07 May 2023

Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) captain Krunal Pandya won the toss and elected to bowl against Gujarat Titans (GT) on May 7 (Sunday). The Super Giants made one change to their playing XI. Quinton de Kock replaced Afghanistan seamer Naveen-ul-Haq in LSG playing XI. Hardik Pandya's Titans also made one chance as Alzarri Joseph replaces Joshua Little.

Lucknow Super Giants (Playing XI): Quinton de Kock(w), Kyle Mayers, Deepak Hooda, Karan Sharma, Krunal Pandya(c), Marcus Stoinis, Swapnil Singh, Yash Thakur, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohsin Khan, Avesh Khan

Gujarat Titans (Playing XI): Wriddhiman Saha(w), Shubman Gill, Hardik Pandya(c), Vijay Shankar, David Miller, Abhinav Manohar, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Mohit Sharma, Noor Ahmad, Mohammed Shami

Under Hardik, GT are perched on top of the leaderboard with 14 points. Krunal, on the other hand, led LSG in the washed out match against Chennai Super Kings. He will be tasked with raising the morale of the side, which has lost its regular skipper and pacer Jaydev Unadkat.

LSG, who are second on the points table with 11 points, enter the fixture on the back of a loss to Royal Challengers Bangalore and a washed out game against CSK. Rahul, who limped off the field against RCB, has ruled himself out of the remainder of the season, as he is set to undergo a thigh surgery. Adding to their woes, pacer Unadkat will also play no part in this IPL after sustaining a shoulder injury.

In their previous two games the batting unit has disappointed as the Lucknow side was unable to chase or put totals in excess of 130 on the board. They have blown hot and cold this season. While on the one hand, they have given commanding performances, they also have a self-destruct button, which goes off.

The Titans, on the other hand, are coming off a morale-boosting nine-wicket win against Rajasthan Royals, where all their departments fired in unison. The Gujarat bowlers have lived up to their top billing. Led by veteran pacer Mohammed Shami and the wily Rashid Khan, they have rarely faltered this season.

The batters, who had an off day against Delhi Capitals, came back with vengeance in the last game to decimate the 119-run target in 13.5 overs. The aim will be to continue the good run at the business end of the tournament.

Squads

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

Gujarat Titans: Hardik Pandya (c), Shubman Gill, David Miller, Abhinav Manohar, Sai Sudharsan, Wriddhiman Saha, Matthew Wade, Rashid Khan, Rahul Tewatia, Vijay Shankar, Mohammed Shami, Alzarri Joseph, Yash Dayal, Pradeep Sangwan, Darshan Nalkande, Jayant Yadav, R. Sai Kishore, Noor Ahmad, Dasun Shanaka, Odean Smith, KS Bharat, Shivam Mavi, Urvil Patel, Joshua Little and Mohit Sharma.