IPL 2023: Rajasthan Royals vs Lucknow Super Giants: Preview, Pitch Report, Possible Playing XI, Head to Head

For the first time since 2019, Rajasthan Royals has returned to their beloved den, the Sawai Mansingh Stadium. In the last three seasons, teams hardly played at their home turfs. Meanwhile, the Pink Brigade is ready for their homecoming and will host, Lucknow Super Giants. Technically, this is their third home game, having played two in Guwahati against Punjab Kings and Delhi Capitals.

Meanwhile, the fans in Jaipur are surely excited about the clash. Talking about their record at the SMS stadium, they have played 47 games, winning 32 and losing 15. Such has been the dominance of the 2008 winners. There was a time when this ground was a fortress for the team. Now, the Pink Brigade would like to continue its dominance at this venue.

Head to Head

Both teams played two games against each other as the Super Giants made their IPL debut last year. In both games, the Sanju Samson-led side has come up trumps.

Possible Playing XI and Impact Subs

Rajasthan Royals: Jos Buttler, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Devdutt Padikkal, Sanju Samson (c and wk), Riyan Parag, Shimron Hetmyer, Dhruv Jurel, Jason Holder, Trent Boult, Ravichandran Ashwin, Sandeep Sharma

Impact Subs: Adam Zampa, Navdeep Saini, Kunal Singh Rathore, Abdul Basith, Murugan Ashwin

Lucknow Super Giants: KL Rahul (c), Kyle Mayers, Deepak Hooda, Krunal Pandya, Nicholas Pooran (wk), Marcus Stoinis, Ayush Badoni, Krishnappa Gowtham, Mark Wood, Yudhvir Singh, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan

Impact Subs: Jaydev Unadkat, Amit Mishra, Prerak Mankad, Naveen-ul-Haq, Karan Sharma

Pitch Report

The last time a massively competitive game was played at the venue was a T20I between India and New Zealand in 2021 winters. Since then, the venue has hardly hosted any games including the domestic games. Both teams would look to bowl first given none of them have any idea about the surface.