Lucknow Super Giants v Chennai Super Kings IPL Tips: CSK to keep play-off charge alive

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Friday 15 May,15:00
TV: Sky Sports

Lucknow Super Giants v Chennai Super Kings IPL team news

Lucknow Super Giants cannot qualify for the play-offs and their focus should be on avoiding finishing bottom. How much stomach they have for that fight remains to be seen.

The dye was cast early with LSG when they started the season by messing around with their batting order. They've not stopped tinkering as player roles have changed and confidence has diminished. Some of the decision-making has been odd; like leaving out Digvesh Rathi against Mumbai when it clear they had an issue against his brand of spin.

Josh Inglis has come in to open the batting. their front three has the potential to sew chaos as much as they are likely to be 12 for three.

Possible XI: Inglis (sub Avesh), Marsh, Pooran, Pant, Markram, Raghuwanshi, Shahbaz, Hinmat, Shami,

Chennai Super Kings are making a late charge for the play-offs with six wins in their last eight. They may need to win all of their last three to make the knockouts. But before backers get excited that sequence is required and a further three-game streak to win it. if you include the three games in a row they have won, Chennai are looking at a nine-game streak to lift the title. it's not going to happen.

They have done brilliantly, though, consdiering the injury problems they have suffered. Ayush mhatre looked like a significant loss with the bat but urvil Patel has come in and been a monster. His eight sixes against LSg was a breakthrough innings.

Possible XI: Samson, Gaikwad, Urvil, Kartik, Brevis, Dube, Veer (sub Choudhary), Overton, Akeal, Noor, Kamboj

Lucknow Super Giants v Chennai Super Kings IPL pitch report

Before the contest against RCB in Lucknow there had been four matches played at Lucknow. The average run rate was 7.88. The highest first-innings score from those games was 164 and there was a tie with LSG posting 155 against KKR. But the surface had completely changed for the RCB clash with LSG posting 209 and holding on by nine runs under DLS.

There have been hints historically that this is a surface which can get better as a tournament progresses. That makes little sense to keen observers of pitch trends so we are wary of runs lines. LSG's total match runs at 174.5 could be considered cheap if the trend is correct.

It's a shame because all the metrics point to a low-scoring contest. This is LSG v CSK which is eighth versus sixth on six-hitting, fifth v third on bowling economy and tenth v eighth on batting strike rate.

Lucknow Super Giants v Chennai Super Kings match prediction

Chennai Super Kings are best at 1.695/7 on the Exchange to take the win they need. We expect them to get it and against a lacklustre and demotivated Lucknow. It is hard to argue that price is wrong, however.

The focus, then, is on derivative markets. Chennai are evens to win and both teams to score 150. That keeps onside the pitch probably whether we're right or wrong about its nature.

The 11/82.38 that Chennai win and hit the most sixes (remember they outrank LSG) could be the best move. Urvil, Sanju Samson, Dewald Brevis and Shivam Dube are each good hitters.

Lucknow Super Giants v Chennai Super Kings player bets

Ruturak Gaikwad is coming back towards the win zone for top bat. There's nothing wrong with taking some of the 11/43.75, particularly if this proves to be flat.

If you're on the other side of the fence Dube always wins at least once a year and with him still recording a blank in the tops colun, the 8/19.00 can be of interest.

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