IPL 2024 RR vs LSG Preview - 2 sides looking to put missed opportunities behind them

Key match stats

Pitch Stats – IPL records at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium

Pitch stats from the 10 most recent IPL matches played at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium

Team form RR vs LSG

Recent meetings: IPL 2023 - LSG won by 10 runs

Weather

General Forecast: Dry with some cloud
Chance of dew: Very low

Preview RR vs LSG

Last season felt like a missed opportunity for both of these franchises. Rajasthan started IPL 2023 in fine form and looked to be cruising towards the playoffs, if not a top 2 spot, before the wheels well and truly came off during the second half of the season.

While LSG made it to the playoffs for a 2nd year in a row, their participation was ended early courtesy of a crushing defeat at the hands of MI in the 1st eliminator match.

Neither side has undergone major changes in the off-season as far as playing personnel is concerned. In fact, the trade between these 2 franchises which saw Padikkal move to Lucknow and Avesh Khan travel in the other direction to Rajasthan was probably the most significant piece of business.

With news that Prasidh Krishna has been ruled out for a 2nd IPL tournament running then Rajasthan will certainly need Avesh to find his best form if they are to return to the top 4. LSG also lost a fast bowler in the build up when Mark Wood withdrew from the 2024 season and he has been replaced by Shamar Joseph who is fresh off his heroics with the West Indies Test side but who possess very little experience of top level T20 cricket.

Ultimately, Rajasthan Royals are left with a squad that looks likely to have similar shortcomings as last season, particularly as far as the lack of all-rounders is concerned. It means that a huge amount of importance will be placed on their top 3 of Buttler, Jaiswal and Samson to get big runs with Ravi Ashwin batting as high as 7 and some genuine 10s and 11s to follow him. Similarly, the lack of a 6th bowling option puts pressure on their frontline to perform no matter what.

The same cannot be said of LSG however who are packed full of all-round options. Krunal Pandya and Stoinis are almost certain to play, while they may also find room for the likes of Gowtham or Mankad in the XI as well. Perhaps the bigger challenge for Lucknow is how they accommodate all that talent and where exactly each of them will bat. There is a suggestion that KL Rahul will move down into the middle order to allow the likes of Padikkal to open bearing in mind that he never really looked comfortable in Rajasthan's middle order.

As far as the pitch is concerned, we saw a range of scores here in IPL 2023 with the Royals passing 200 on 2 occassions and then twice being skittled out for 118 vs GT and then just 59 vs RCB in what was the most recent IPL fixture played at this venue.

Prior to that, the opening match of IPL 2023 played at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium was between the Royals and Super Giants with the visitors ultimately securing a 10 run win on a pitch that proved difficult to score quickly on. As the powerplay vs death overs scoring rates above show, that has generally been the trend in IPL matches here in Jaipur so we wait to see what the curator has in store for us in 2024.

RR v LSG head to head

LSG bowling vs RR batting

If there is an area of the Lucknow team that is missing a bit of quality then it's probably their fast bowling. They have several good options without possessing that one stand out quick that can be considered a true leader of the attack. Keeping Mohsin Khan fully fit would certainly be a big plus but otherwise could this be the season that Shivam Mavi finally plays a big part in the IPL?

Samson T20 head to head vs Shivam Mavi

Mavi has never been an automatic starter for any franchise that he's been at since debuting back in 2018 but he does like to get Sanju Samson out. In fact, the Royals skipper accounts for 17% of all Mavi's wickets in the IPL! Can he play you every week Sanju?

The big concern I have about the Rajasthan batting line-up is who is going to bat in those number 4 and 5 positions and steer them through the middle overs? The likes of Hetmyer and Powell are finishers not only because of their ability to clear the boundary in those final overs but because they are vulnerable to slow bowling.

Doesn't look like Rovman can pick the googly...

Ravi Bishnoi in particular will be licking his lips at the chance to add to his wicket haul against the 2 West Indians (Powell dismissed 5 times and Hetmyer twice in T20s) while LSG could also turn to the old war horse in Amit Mishra if conditions suit and they feel they can fully exploit this match-up.

RR bowling vs LSG batting

Perhaps part of the reason that Rajasthan were keen to bring in Avesh Khan was down to his man of the match performance against them on this very ground last season. He took 3 for 25 to help LSG defend their relatively low total of 154.

Season	Bowler	Powerplay wickets	Bowler	Powerplay wickets
2021	Boult	5	Avesh	6
2022	Boult	10	Avesh	7
2023	Boult	10	Avesh	0

Boult and Avesh powerplay wickets in the IPL by season

Rajasthan will certainly be hoping that he can return the kind of numbers particularly in the powerplay that he was managing in the 2021 and 2022 seasons after he failed to take any wickets from the 12 overs he bowled in that phase of the game last year. If he can, then he and Trent Boult could form a very effective new ball partnership while Avesh can also be effective through the middle and death periods of the innings too.

Spin is going to form a very important part of Rajasthan's season full stop but against this Lucknow side they will be keen to get the likes of Ashwin and Chahal into the attack early. They have favorable match-ups against Hooda, Pooran, Myers and QdK...

QDK combined T20 head to head vs Ashwin and Chahal

Adam Zampa often played as a 3rd frontline spinner for RR last season and he too has a good record against several of these LSG batsmen. He's dismissed both KL Rahul and Pooran on 3 occassions in previous T20 meetings and limited both to a scoring rate of about a run a ball. With their seam options once again limited by injury the double Rs may be forced to rethink their attack, although Zampa's inclusion would likely cost one of the West Indian's their place in the side.

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All stats used in this blog are from my own databases which are freely accessible below
IPL player head to head records
IPL player records by stadium
IPL stadium records.
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