The weekend is here which means that we have another double header of action in the Indian Premier League on Saturday, with the first IPL 2023 match of the two seeing the Sunrisers Hyderabad hosting the Lucknow Super Giants.
The Sunrisers are in the unenviable position of likely having to win their last four matches to extend their season. Things are not that bleak for the Super Giants but they need to get back to winning ways soon to keep pace.
Sunrisers Hyderabad
The Sunrisers Hyderabad might feel that they are on a bit of a free roll heading into this match. They went into their last outing knowing that one more defeat would probably put them out of the competition and thought that they had been beaten off the final ball against the Rajasthan Royals, only to be gifted a second chance which they took full advantage of. They wouldn’t be the first team in sport to get such a second life and run with it to full impact.
If they are going to do that then they are going to need their bowling to come to the fore again. They did look like they had that side of the game cracked but they have lost their mojo in the last three matches, albeit on very good batting tracks. The positive is that they have found a couple of form overseas batters in the middle order to get after the bowling so now if they can build platforms at the start then the big scores needed in this competition are not beyond them.
Lucknow Super Giants
When you consider that the Lucknow Super Giants haven’t won a match for two weeks, it is quite crazy that they will still be in the top four in the standings if they win this one. They have lost two and had a washout in their last three matches and you would have to say the rain saved them in the game which wasn’t completed too. One of the issues they have encountered is the pitches on their home ground do nothing for the players they have and the style of cricket they are suited to.
With that in mind, Lucknow are likely to be quite pleased that they are on the road here. Not only are they away from home but they are away at a venue which is generally good for batting and where the ball comes onto the bat nicely. Lucknow still need to come to grips with having to change a lot around after the injury to the captain KL Rahul but even without him they don’t lack for batting depth and they have never struggled for bowling resources.
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Key Players
Glenn Phillips wasn’t able to be there at the end in the run chase against the Rajasthan Royals last time out but his 25 from seven balls was the catalyst to getting them over the line and he might get shoved up the order a little as a result.
Kyle Mayers has had a good season for the Lucknow Super Giants and he should find conditions and the opposing bowling attack very much to his liking. He is a naturally clean hitter of the ball and if he gets going the visitors should be in a decent position.
Betting
I’m expecting to see a fairly high scoring match here. The Lucknow Super Giants are generally involved in high scoring matches away from home and Sunrisers Hyderabad have to throw caution to the wind and not just win this match but win it fairly well to start doing some work on their net run rate. To be fair, both need to work on their run rate but this is a big ground so rather than get involved in the boundaries, which should still get covered, I’ll play the runs instead.
The run line for this match is 334.5 which feels low anyway based on what we have seen in this tournament. Away from home, Lucknow have posted scores of 205/7 in Chennai, 213/9 in Bengaluru, 154/7 on a weird track in Jaipur, 257/5 in Mohali and 171/7 in Ahmedabad. That makes me think they will go well, especially with no demons in the Sunrisers attack. In those matches Lucknow have conceded 217/7, 212/2, 144/6, 201 and 227/2. Sunrisers are starting to show form with the bat so everything points to a high scoring match here.
Tips
Back Over 334.5 runs for a 3/10 stake at 1.83 with Bet365
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