Hyderabad, May 12: Lucknow Super Giants will be itching to get back to winning ways against a buoyant Sunrisers Hyderabad with young wrist spinner Ravi Bishnoi holding the key in a must-win IPL game here on Saturday.
LSG, having lost two of their last three matches, will take a huge step forward if they happen to get past Aiden Markram’s team, which is languishing in ninth place in the 10-team table.
The Krunal Pandya-led team is currently fifth with 11 points and is very much there in the play-off mix.
However, on an Uppal track that has produced middling team totals, the role of spinners will be paramount, and that’s where Bishnoi, veteran ‘Impact Sub’ Amit Mishra and skipper Krunal himself come into the picture.
The spin troika will have its task cut out against a Hyderabad line-up whose batting will be dependant on their three overseas recruits — Markram, Heinrich Klaasen and Glenn Phillips.
With his fast googlies Bishnoi, the team’s best bowler with 12 wickets, could trouble the overseas trio while Mishra’s guile and Krunal’s steady wicket-to-wicket bowling could be key against the ‘Orange Army’.
In Hyderabad, the track is a bit on the slower side and the spinners, who bowl at a higher speed, will certainly have an advantage over others.
If one compares man to man, LSG’s spinners are better placed since SRH already are hamstrung by Washington Sundar’s pull out from the tournament.
The only spinner doing well for Sunrisers consistently is Mayank Markande, who has 11 wickets from eight games at an economy rate of 7.31. (PTI)
Match starts at 3:30 pm
