Lucknow Super Giants will be looking to turn the lights on at home when they take on Gujarat Titans in an IPL match in Lucknow on Sunday. LSG’s talent is not in question, but their Ekana Cricket Stadium record has been a sticking point, and they’ll want to erase doubts early. The visitors arrive buoyed by wins on the road, setting up a high-pressure contest for both sides.
Quick facts
- Match: Lucknow Super Giants vs Gujarat Titans, Indian Premier League
- Venue: Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow
- Day: Sunday (afternoon match)
- LSG form: Two away wins before this game
- GT form: First win of the season, a one-run success over Delhi Capitals
- LSG home concern: Lost six of eight matches at the venue last season; nine wins from 22 games overall at Ekana
- LSG this season at home: Bowled out for 141 in a six-wicket defeat to Delhi Capitals
- LSG highlight: Mukul Choudhary’s emergence as a ‘finisher’ after a big six-hitting display vs KKR
- GT key bowling: Rashid Khan and Washington Sundar, with the pitch expected to play slow and variable
- GT batting boost: Jos Buttler’s 27-ball 52 and Shubman Gill’s return with a 70
Gujarat Titans head into the matchup fresh from a thrilling one-run win over Delhi Capitals, a result that also marked their first victory of the season. LSG, meanwhile, have built momentum away from Lucknow, claiming two strong wins on the road against Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kolkata Knight Riders.
Yet, the home story for Lucknow has not matched their travelling form. Last season, they went down in six of their eight games at Ekana, including a run of five straight losses. Across their history at the ground, they’ve managed only nine wins from 22 matches, which is the kind of stat that tends to linger in the background ahead of every home fixture.
This season has started with a similar problem at home. In their early Ekana outing, LSG suffered a batting collapse, being dismissed for 141 in the six-wicket loss to Delhi Capitals. With this only their second home game of the year, the team will be eager to demonstrate that those earlier troubles were an aberration rather than a pattern.
There is, however, a clear lift within the squad after consecutive away successes. The most eye-catching development came in their most recent appearance against KKR, where Mukul Choudhary’s impact stood out and added a new dimension to their finishing options.
Mukul’s arrival and LSG’s batting depth
The 21-year-old, originally from Rajasthan and relatively under the radar, delivered a standout performance featuring aggressive hitting. His quick batting tempo, combined with a broad range of strokes, helped him shine, including the helicopter shot associated with his idol, MS Dhoni. The knock positioned him as IPL’s latest talking point, especially for a team that wants reliable late-innings firepower.
Another encouraging sign for Lucknow has been Ayush Badoni finding his form again. Against KKR, he struck a half-century that helped set up the chase, underlining that the batting order has more than one route to runs. Badoni contributing means LSG can lean on an already strong top-five, with Mitchell Marsh, Aiden Markram, Rishabh Pant and Nicholas Pooran also part of the batting core.
With the match scheduled as an afternoon game, the conditions could become a deciding factor. Gujarat’s spin pairing of Rashid Khan and Washington Sundar will be central to that storyline, particularly on a surface expected to be slow and to offer uneven bounce.
Rashid Khan enters this contest in rhythm after his most recent outing versus Delhi Capitals. He returned Player-of-the-Match figures of 3/17, playing a direct role in Gujarat’s one-run win. There had been criticism that batters were beginning to read his variations, but Rashid answered with a sharp middle-overs spell, including the wicket of Delhi’s breakout batter Sameer Rizvi, who was dismissed for a golden duck after three consecutive fifties.
GT’s batting boost
Lucknow will also have to contend with positive signals from Gujarat’s batting. Jos Buttler, the England veteran, has looked like himself again after scoring 52 off 27 balls. Skipper Shubman Gill marked his return from injury with a lively 70 at the top of the order, giving Gujarat a platform to build from.
With LSG trying to correct their home record and GT carrying momentum from key performances, the contest in Lucknow promises to hinge on execution—especially in the middle overs, where the spinners may shape the chase or the total. For both teams, this is more than just another fixture; it’s an opportunity to prove their trajectory at the right moment in the season.
