Indian T20 League 2022: Gujarat vs Lucknow – Match 4: Preview, Playing XIs, Pitch Report & Update
Pandya-Rahul (image source: BCCI)
Gujarat and Lucknow are the two newly introduced teams for the Indian T20 League 2022. These two franchises are to face off against each other in the fourth match of the 15th edition of the tournament. The match will take place at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
Both the teams will look to perform big in their seasons. So, let’s look at the important details of the match before the two teams face off.
Team News
Gujarat: Gujarat secured the services of Hardik Pandya during the draft ahead of the mega auction of the Indian T20 League 2022. They paid a hefty price of INR 15 Cr for the player. Gujarat later announced that Hardik will be leading their team this season. This will be Hardik’s first team leading any team in any format of the game. So, the fans will be eagerly watching Hardik’s first endeavor as a captain.
Unavailable Players: Mathew Wade, David Miller and Alzarri Joseph will not be a part of the team for the first match due to their national duties.
Probable XI: Shubman Gill, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (O), Wriddhiman Saha (WK), Gurkeerat Singh, Hardik Pandya (C), Vijay Shankar, Jayant Yadav, Rashid Khan (O), Lockie Ferguson (O), Mohammed Shami, Dominic Drakes (O).
Key Players
Hardik Pandya: Hardik Pandya is coming from injury into the Indian T20 League 2022. He will be looking to give his team some explosive finishes for which he was known during his stint at Mumbai.
Rashid Khan: He will be the most important factor in the bowling efforts of the team. His ability to bowl economically and also pick up wickets in the middle overs is certainly going to be the biggest asset for the team. Along with his excellent bowling, he can also score some valuable runs in the lower middle order.
Shubman Gill: Shubman Gill is a steady opener who gives a steady start to his team most of the days. Gujarat will be hoping that he provides them with some solid and steady start in most of the matches.
Mohammed Shami: Mohammed Shami is the most experienced customer in the pace attack of Gujarat. The team will surely turn to him for wickets at beginning of the opposition’s innings.
Lucknow: Just like Gujarat, Lucknow also drafted their captain ahead of the mega auction for Indian T20 League 2022. They secured KL Rahul for INR 17 Cr, who will be leading the team this season.
Unavailable Players: Marcus Stoinis and Jason Holder will not be available for the match due to national duties.
Probable XI- KL Rahul (C), Quinton de Kock (WK) (O), Manish Pandey, Deepak Hooda, Krunal Pandya, K Gowtham, Mohsin Khan, Dushmanta Chameera (O), Avesh Khan, Ravi Bishnoi, Ankit Rajpoot
Key Players
KL Rahul: With an Indian T20 League career average of 47.43 with a strike rate of 136.38 Rahul is surely going to be the most important factor in Lucknow’s batting
Quinton de Kock: De Kock along with Rahul will give Lucknow the dynamic starts that might put them ahead in most of the games.
Ravi Bishnoi: The young Indian leg spinner Ravi Bishnoi has already impressed everybody with his wicket-taking abilities. He will be an important part of Lucknow’s bowling efforts in the middle overs.
Pitch Report: The opening match of the season was played on the same ground. In the opening clash, we saw that there was something in it for the pacers in the initial stages. Towards the latter half of the first inning, the pitch appeared a bit tacky and the ball was coming off slow of the track. But as the night grew older dew came in and made the track easier for batting. So, the same could be expected and it is safe to say that the captain winning the toss will most probably field first.
Match Details
Venue: Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
Date: March 28, 2022
Time: 7:30 pm IST
Live Streaming: Star Sports Network for Television and Disney + HotStar app for online streaming.
Weather Report: Rain is not expected although it is expected to be slightly cloudy. The average temperature will be around 28 degrees Celsius and humidity will be around 60%. Dew is expected to set in during the second innings.
