03 May,2023 06:54 AM IST | Lucknow | Santosh Suri
LSG’s Deepak Hooda is stumped by RCB’s Dinesh Karthik in Lucknow on Monday. Pic/PTI
Lucknow Super Giants have burnt their fingers thrice by choosing a slow and low black soil pitch at the Ekana Stadium on which batting freely is neigh-impossible. Having lost three of the five home games so far is not helping their cause. Their performance hit the nadir in the last match against Royal Challengers Bangalore on Monday when they managed just 108 while chasing 127 for victory.
The LSG management, surprisingly have chosen similar surfaces in most of the home games and have paid a heavy price. In the first match of the season, they had chosen the red soil track on which batting first, LSG notched up a healthy 193-6 and won against Delhi Capitals quite comfortably.
Instead of sticking with better quality red soil wickets, the home team, thinking they have superior spin bowling resources, changed the track and paid the price. The team that made IPL's second-highest total of 258 just a few days ago at Mohali, barely managed to cross the 100-mark against an aggressive RCB attack.
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Finally, better sense has prevailed and the LSG think-tank, comprising mentor Gautam Gambhir and head coach Andy Flower have opted for a red soil pitch for Wednesday afternoon's match against Chennai Super Kings. The match was scheduled for Thursday, but due to voting for the local body's elections in Lucknow on that day, it has been advanced by a day.
Also Read: KL Rahul's injury is a big concern for LSG as they get ready for CSK challenge
LSG have a few problems. Their skipper KL Rahul hurt his leg while fielding against RCB and came to bat at No. 11. He looks highly unlikely to be fit enough to play against CSK. As was saw in the RCB match, the Lucknow fans were cheering for Kohli and it seemed like RCB were playing in Bangalore. There were numerous fans wearing RCB jerseys in the stands. It seems it will be a similar situation when the local crowds here will be cheering for MS Dhoni and CSK, wearing their bright yellow jerseys.
