Much to think for LSG with their wafer thin bowling resources. © BCCI Some IPL games carry the weight of being era-defining. They sometimes serve as the starting point of a change in direction and/or ideas, and come with the risk of eclipsing the results and outcomes of an otherwise appreciable cycle. LSG and KL Rahul’s break-up – after two playoffs finishes in 2022 and 2023 – perhaps has its origin in this very fixture from last May, when Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma made an absolute mockery of a sub-par total of 165, by chasing it down in 9.4 overs. The silver lining for LSG was that the unravelling came just before a mega auction, giving the management an immediate shot at rebuilding. Only two LSG bowlers – Ravi Bishnoi and Ayush Badoni – from that night will take the field on Thursday, but the visitors still have injury-induced bowling woes. The revamped but makeshift bowling attack – with two pacers and four spinners – was effective in patches in the narrow loss to Delhi Capitals in Vizag, but such a combination and inconsistency might not cut it in Hyderabad. Head and Abhishek are still at the helm for a side that could afford to hold onto its core from 2024, and continue to be at its menacing best. On Hyderabad’s true surfaces, runs are available for anyone competent enough to swing a bat at this level. LSG arrive with a top-order capable of giving SRH a run for their money at this venue, but once again cannot afford a lapse to get in the way of success. Against DC, LSG flew off the blocks but fell apart towards the end, getting 48/6 in the last 7 overs. In times and venues like these where bowlers have no respite, the consequence is low margin for error for batters too. A dip, however momentary, can be the difference between a winning 250 and an insufficient 210, like LSG learnt in Vizag. Given how early this fixtures has come, there’s still not as much riding on it for LSG like it did last season. But an away win with a hamstrung squad, against the recent finalists who’ve lost once in the last seven games there could carry the potential of being the starting point of something new. When: Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Lucknow Super Giants, Match 7, IPL 2025, March 27, 07:30 PM IST Where: Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad What to expect: Another game with an aggregate score of 500 or more. The pitches are flat and both the top-orders are capable of pulverising most bowling attacks in the tournament. Head to head: SRH 1 – 3 LSG. In Hyderabad, the teams have a win each in two outings. SRH shattered records in this fixture last season, chasing down 166 inside the first half of their innings with all 10 wickets intact. Team Watch: Sunrisers Hyderabad Injury/Availability:There are no injury concerns for the hosts. They’re likely to stick with the same XII. Tactics & Match-ups: Nicholas Pooran comes with a fearsome reputation of brutally taking down his favourable spin match-ups. But that said, SRH leg-spinner Adam Zampa, who also turns the ball into the left-hander, has got the better of him in this tournament. Pooran has hit the Aussie for just 38 runs in 36 balls, getting out twice to him. Expect Pat Cummins to turn to Zampa the moment the left-hander arrives. Before they get to Pooran, SRH might also want to avoid bowling short to Mitchell Marsh, who punished his former team DC for doing that in Vizag with a knock of 72 (36). Probable XII: Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Ishan Kishan, Nitish Reddy, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), Aniket Verma, Abhinav Manohar, Pat Cummins (c), Harshal Patel, Adam Zampa, Mohammed Shami, Simarjeet Singh Lucknow Super Giants Injury/Availability:Avesh Khan is back. The fast bowler spent 20 minutes doing sprints on the side and then joined the nets to bowl. He didn’t take too long to go full tilt, even hurrying his captain Rishabh Pant with pace on a few deliveries. He should walk into the XI, perhaps in place of Manimaran Sidharth. Meanwhile, Akash Deep and Mayank Yadav remain out of contention. Tactics & Match-ups:LSG will lean on Shardul Thakur to make the early in-roads once again. He’s one of the bowlers who has managed to keep Abhishek Sharma on a tight leash in previous meetings between the two, dismissing him twice in 14 deliveries while only giving away 16 runs. That said, SRH’s new No.3 Ishan Kishan is a menace forThakur. (57 runs | 30 balls | 0 dismissals). This game will also be a big test for their new leggie Digvesh Rathi. Hyderabad has been an unforgiving venue for his tribe and the SRH line-up is full of spin-smashers and left-handers (3 in the top 5). In the first game at the venue this season, SRH and RR bowled a combined total of 11 overs of spin – RR conceded 61/2 in 5; SRH gave away 65/1 in 6. Probable XII:Aiden Markram, Mitchell Marsh, Nicholas Pooran, Ayush Badoni, Rishabh Pant (c & wk), David Miller, Shardul Thakur, Shahbaz Ahmed, Ravi Bishnoi, Digvesh Rathi, Avesh Khan, Prince Yadav Did you know: – The average first innings total in 7 IPL matches in Hyderabad since 2024 is 216. – Nicholas Pooran has hit five sixes in the seven balls he’s faced from Abhishek Sharma in IPL What they said: “I’d never say never. I think we ran it pretty close the other day ourselves and I think we’ve seen already in a couple of other games that 230, 240 is being achieved. So yeah, why not?” – SRH’s bowling coach James Franklinon whether a total of 300 can be a reality this season. “I haven’t had the greatest of luck with injuries in the April, May months of the year in the past but I’ve certainly come here after a bit of a break, I’ve had a few months to get my back right and I come here really fresh mentally and physically so hopefully that holds me in good stead for the tournament.” – Mitchell Marsh
