IPL 2023: Statistical preview of Lucknow Super Giants
The new franchise from Lucknow was welcomed with a lot of love and support and they repaid their fans with some outstanding cricket. The Lucknow Super Giants finished third at the end of their inaugural Indian Premier League (IPL) league phase. LSG will be gunning for their maiden IPL title this year and they have the team to reach the summit. Here's more.
Their run in the previous season
LSG were one of the two new teams included in the IPL last season. Led by the dynamic KL Rahul, they won three out of their first four matches and became a top contender for the playoffs. After 14 matches, they finished third with nine wins and five losses. However, their dream run came to end when they lost the Eliminator against RCB.
KL Rahul close to 4,000 runs in IPL
LSG skipper Rahul has hammered 3,889 runs in 109 IPL matches at a fantastic average of 48.01. He will be the 14th batter in IPL history to cross the 4,000-run landmark. Last season for LSG, he slammed 616 runs in 15 outings at 51.33 (100s: 2, 50s: 4). From IPL 2018 to IPL 2022, Rahul's season-wise tally reads 659, 593, 670, 626, and 616.
De Kock close to 3,000 IPL runs
LSG wicket-keeper Quinton de Kock who will be crucial to their plans has slammed 2,764 runs in 92 IPL games at 32.13. The SA star is close to the personal milestone of 3,000 runs in IPL. He will be the third SA batter to reach the landmark after AB de Villiers and Faf du Plessis. He hammered 508 runs last season at 36.28.
A look at the key bowlers
Avesh Khan was the highest wicket-taker for LSG last season as he scalped 18 wickets. All-rounder Krunal Pandya is one of only 11 players who have the rare double of 1,000 runs and 50 wickets in IPL. Ravi Bishnoi has scalped 37 wickets in 37 IPL matches, striking at 22.70. Mark Wood has picked 65 wickets in 49 T20s at an average of 21.20.
Pooran is closing in on 5,000 T20 runs
Apart from Rahul and De Kock, Deepak Hooda was the only batter who crossed the 400-run threshold. Hooda finished with 451 runs last season in 15 games slamming four fifties. New addition, Nicholas Pooran has mustered 912 runs in 47 IPL games, striking at 151.24. He has a splendid record in T20s, having scored 4,993 runs in 259 games.
Did you know?
Rahul's average of 48.01 is the highest among players who have played 100+ IPL games. He is also 10th in most IPL fifties (28) and joint-third in most hundreds (4), only behind Chris Gayle (6) and Virat Kohli (5).
Here's a look at the LSG squad for IPL 2023
LSG squad: KL Rahul (c), Ayush Badoni, Karan Sharma, Manan Vohra, Quinton de Kock, Marcus Stoinis, Krishnappa Gowtham, Deepak Hooda, Kyle Mayers, Krunal Pandya, Avesh Khan, Mohsin Khan, Mark Wood, Mayank Yadav, Ravi Bishnoi, Nicholas Pooran, Jaydev Unadkat, Yash Thakur, Romario Shepherd, Daniel Sams, Amit Mishra, Prerak Mankad, Swapnil Singh, Naveen ul Haq, Yudhvir Charak.
