Lucknow Super Giants v Rajasthan Royals IPL Tips: Could bowlers finally dominate?

• Royals well suited but toss key

• Krunal a wager at 20s

• Lucknow pitch has been flat

• Read about Ed's Betfair Exchange strategy below

Lucknow Super Giants v Rajasthan Royals
Saturday 27 April, 15:00
TV: Live on Sky Sports

Lucknow Super Giants v Rajasthan Royals team news

Lucknow are more solid than ever after back-to-back wins over Chennai. Marcus Stoinis, as discussed on Cricket...Only Bettor below, copped for man of the match in an innings which should confirm his position at No 3 for Australia in the World Cup. Dev Padikkal is surely axed again after a horror show. We await the return of Mayank Yadav.

Possible XI: De Kock, Rahul, Stoinis, Mankad/Yash Thakur (subs), Pooran, Hooda, Badoni, Krunal, Henry, Bishnoi, Mohsin

Rajasthan crushed Mumbai last time out thanks to Sandeep Sharma returning a five-for. Back after an injury, Royals look unstoppable with him in the side. They could still improve if they picked Donovan Ferreira instead of Shimron Hetmyer but we don't expect that to happen any time soon. Keshav Maharaj could also be used as another spin option.

Probable XI: Jaiswal, Buttler/Chahal (subs), Samson, Parag, Hetmyer, Powell, Jurel, Ashwin, Boult, Avesh, Sandeep

Lucknow Super Giants v Rajasthan Royals pitch report

Lucknow could be the surface, with four matches already played, where we see a downturn in run rates. It can be stodgy at the best of times. Chennai looked like they had recorded a winning score of 176 but lost their grip. It may be possible to short the 20-over par line at 172.5.

Lucknow Super Giants v Rajasthan Royals match odds

Lucknow are 2.166/5 favourites with Royals 1.834/5. Although Lucknow are in great touch and one could be forgiven for thinking a slow surface assists the hosts, Royals are well-equipped to succeed.

They have a wealth of spin options and their nous with pace on appears to be unrivalled by another unit.

Royals have won three of the four meetings. They squeezed Lucknow expertly earlier this season. A repeat, though, could depend on the toss.

Lucknow Super Giants v Rajasthan Royals Exhange strategy

Dew is a factor at this venue as Chennai found to their cost. The toss winner will surely look to chase.

Although we don't expect the Lucknow batting to go beserk on this wicket, any drift in odds in the Royals price if they are bowling first is one to be snaffled.

Lucknow Super Giants v Rajasthan Royals player bets

The 16/54.20 about Quinton de Kock is a big edge on win rate but we are wary that slower surfaces don't suit him. It's worth a small interest. If we're right about a difficult wicket we would like Krunal Pandya on our side at 20/121.00. For Royals, Rovman Powell is not a bad shout at 15/28.50 although Yuz Chahal for most wickets at 10/34.33 on a helpful surface is an option.

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