The fourth match of Indian Premier League 2024 lines up Rajasthan Royals against Lucknow Super Giants in Jaipur on Sunday, March 24. Under the scanner will be LSG captain KL Rahul's fitness as he takes the field after a prolonged recovery from a quadriceps injury. (Match Blog | Preview | Full Coverage)
The injury had forced Rahul out of the last four India vs England Tests, and though he had been recuperating at the National Cricket Academy, the 31-year-old might not keep wickets initially. And hence, an interesting sub-plot in Sunday's game is Rahul's likely tussle with opposite number Sanju Samson for the wicket-keeping slot in the Indian squad for the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 in June.
Here are three key player battles from the RR vs LSG match on Sunday evening that could be worth your while.
Yashasvi Jaiswal Vs Naveen-ul-Haq
The 22-year-old India opener has made waves in Test cricket with his T20-style batting. Yashasvi Jaiswal has always been a free-flowing batter and it is very hard for the opposition to stem the flow of runs when he's at the crease. It will be a similarly daunting proposition for Naveen-ul-Haq to keep Jaiswal quiet, but if there is a bowler can who expected to do that, it is the fiery Afghan seamer.
Nicholas Pooran Vs Ravichandran Ashwin
Time and again, Nicholas Pooran has been a thorn in T20 bowlers' flesh. The southpaw has resurrected innings, played aggressive rear-guard action when the chips were down for his side. He will have his task cut out against arguably the world's best off-spinner currently - Ravichandran Ashwin. The ace India bowler will unleash all his variations on the West Indian and hope to see his back early.
Marcus Stoinis Vs Yuzvendra Chahal
Though currently missing from the Indian team, Yuzvendra Chahal has a splendid IPL record. The leg-spinner is the leading wicket-taker in the tournament's history with 187 dismissals in 145 games. Chahal can make things difficult for right-handers by taking the ball away from their arc and Marcus Stoinis will be presented with the same challenge on Sunday. The Aussie batting all-rounder has a strike-rate of 150 in his previous 10 matches and will be looking to take the attack to Chahal right away.
Squads
Rajasthan Royals: Sanju Samson (c), Jos Buttler, Shubham Dubey, Shimron Hetmyer, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Riyan Parag, Rovman Powell, Kunal Singh Rathore, Ravichandran Ashwin, Donovan Ferreira, Avesh Khan, Trent Boult, Nandre Burger, Yuzvendra Chahal, Prasidh Krishna, Navdeep Saini, Sandeep Sharma, Kuldeep Sen, Abid Mushtaq, Tanush Kotian.
Lucknow Super Giants: KL Rahul (c), Quinton de Kock, Nicholas Pooran, Ayush Badoni, Kyle Mayers, Marcus Stoinis, Deepak Hooda, Devdutt Padikkal, Ravi Bishnoi, Naveen-ul-Haq, Krunal Pandya, Yudhvir Singh, Prerak Mankad, Yash Thakur, Amit Mishra, Shamar Joseph, Mayank Yadav, Mohsin Khan, K. Gowtham, Shivam Mavi, Arshin Kulkarni, M. Siddharth, Ashton Turner, David Willey, Mohd. Arshad Khan.
