The Indian Premier League continues on Friday when the Lucknow Super Giants are back in action when they go up against a Sunrisers Hyderabad who are already facing one or two questions after just one match.
The Sunrisers were absolutely torn apart by the Rajasthan Royals in their first game and could do with a much better showing here. Lucknow Super Giants have a win and a loss on their ledger and will be looking for a second win here.
Lucknow Super Giants
The Lucknow Super Giants opened their campaign with a very comfortable win over the Delhi Capitals but then they ran into a bit of a monster performance from the Chennai Super Kings in their second game and were unable to get control of that match. The Super Kings flew away from them in the opening 10 overs of that match and while the Super Giants fought hard they were just always an over or so behind the game.
The positive for the Super Giants this season so far is that they are in excellent touch with the bat in hand. They have posted 193/6 and 205/7 in their two matches and still have Quinton de Kock to come into the side. Their bowling hasn’t been quite as good but in the main it has been decent enough. Mark Wood is already shining in this team and if Lucknow can bowl better in the powerplay than they did in Chennai they should be fine.
Sunrisers Hyderabad
Not for the first time, the Sunrisers Hyderabad look to have gone into a season of the Indian Premier League undermanned in the key areas. Their batting in their opening game left a lot to be desired and that is a department of the game they have struggled in since Dave Warner and Jonny Bairstow left a few years ago. We probably should cut them some slack in that they were chasing a monster score against the Rajasthan Royals, but the fact that even with the Impact Player rule in play Washington Sundar batted in the top six highlights their weakness clearly.
The longer the competition goes on the better we might see the Sunrisers become. I say that because they have some useful spinners in their ranks but with only seven home matches per side there is no guarantee that the pitches will tire like they have in the last two seasons. The big news for the Sunrisers heading into this match is their captain Aiden Markram has arrived to provide a quality batting option and some further spin depth.
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Key Players
It remains to be seen if Kyle Mayers gets to keep his place in the side but it would be incredibly harsh if he is left out after two swashbuckling and easy on the eye 50s in the opening two matches. If he stays in he could get Lucknow ahead of the game.
Aiden Markram will need to be a hugely positive influence on the Sunrisers Hyderabad side both in the dressing room and out in the middle. His team need a real pick-me-up after a shambolic showing in the first game.
Betting
This isn’t the easiest match to bet on. Both teams have shown vulnerability in their matches so far in this tournament and they also both get players back so things might be a little different than what we have seen so far. We also have this Lucknow pitch which has been tough to score runs on for much of the last few months yet certain players were able to hit the ball cleanly in the first game here. I can’t say there is much that I want to steam into but there is one bet which I will take.
Harry Brook looked like a fish out of water in the opening match of the season for the Sunrisers Hyderabad, particularly when the Rajasthan Royals’ spinners were bowling at him. That wasn’t really him though and I expect a much better showing from him in this match. We saw against Chennai that this bowling attack can go around the park and there isn’t really much mystery to their spinners which will be of particular use for Brook. Aiden Markram arriving might also free Brook up to play the way we know he can and at 7/1 he feels a massive price to be the leading Sunrisers Hyderabad batter here.
Tips
Back H.Brook Top Sunrisers Hyderabad Batter for a 1/10 stake at 8.00 with BetVictor
Back him here:
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