Indian Premier League 2022: LSG's season in numbers
Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) suffered a 14-run defeat to the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the Eliminator of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 season. Though it was LSG's maiden campaign, the KL Rahul-led side showcased they have the competence to be crowned winners. The players clicked as a unit which eventually got them a top-four finish. We decode their season in numbers.
A look at LSG's run in IPL 2022
LSG (158/6) lost to GT by five wickets in their maiden game. However, they bounced back with wins over CSK, SRH, and DC. LSG then suffered a three-run defeat to RR followed by a win over MI and a loss against RCB. They struck a four-match win streak but lost to GT and RR. They overcame KKR but succumbed to RCB in the Eliminator.
Why does this story matter?
LSG played like a title-winning side throughout the tournament. They had the right mix of youth and experience. The likes of Mohsin Khan and Ayush Badoni dazzled at frequent intervals. Plus, they had proven campaigners in KL Rahul, Quinton de Kock, and Krunal Pandya to name a few. Andy Flower and Gautam Gambhir as the coach and mentor, respectively, played a part as well.
LSG finish third in the league stage
Lucknow Super Giants willed themselves to nine wins in 14 matches in the League stage. They pocketed 18 points and finished third with a Net Run Rate of +0.251.
Rahul was the show stopper
Batting-wise, Rahul was heads and shoulders above his colleagues in 2022. He clobbered 616 runs in the tournament (second-most) and averaged 51.33. He smashed two hundreds and four fifties. Quinton de Kock (508) and Deepak Hooda (451) didn't leave any scoring opportunities. The latter registered his best run in the cash-rich league, dishing out consistent 30s and 40s.
Rahul slammed six fifty-plus scores in IPL 2022
Rahul smacked six 50-plus totals in the 2022 edition of the tournament. His scores read: 68 vs SRH, 103* vs MI, 103* vs MI, 77 vs DC, 68* vs KKR, and 79 vs RCB. He managed 616 runs in 15 matches. He became the first player with 600-plus runs in four seasons in IPL, having earlier breached the tally in 2018, 2020, and 2021.
Avesh sizzled on the wicket-taking front
Right-arm quick Avesh Khan snared 18 wickets in 13 matches with best figures of 4/24. He averaged 23.11 and finished as the highest wicket-taker for LSG. Left-arm pacer Mohsin Khan stunned the rivals, scalping 14 wickets at 14.07. He pocketed the joint-second most scalps for Lucknow alongside Jason Holder. Meanwhile, spinners Ravi Bishnoi and Krunal Pandya claimed 13 and 10 wickets, respectively.
Second-most runs in death overs
As per ESPNcricinfo. in powerplay, Lucknow amassed 670 runs with a run rate of 7.44. They struck at a modest rate of 116.29. In the middle-overs, they churned out 1,235 runs (second-most) while managing a run rate of 8.35. They upped their game in the death overs, clobbering 643 runs at 11.65. Notably, they were second only to RR (674) in this regard.
LSG's key performers in powerplay, middle, and death overs
De Kock had the most success in the powerplay overs. He smacked 257 runs while striking at 136.70. Hooda (348) and Rahul (121) battered the most runs in middle and death overs, respectively. Avesh and Dushmantha Chameera were the top picks in powerplay (seven wickets). Bishnoi clocked 11 wickets in the middle overs, while Holder garnered the most dismissals in the death (six).
