Unlocking LSG’s Home Advantage in IPL 2024; Rizvi’s Impactful Debut For CSK
Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) are gearing up to leverage their home ground advantage against Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the upcoming IPL match.
When these two teams last faced off in Mohali, there were nonstop pyrotechnics. LSG scored 257, which at the time was the second-highest IPL total, followed by Kings’ 201.
Shamar Joseph’s IPL debut may be a little while off, according to LSG coach Justin Langer.
The two teams will now play in Lucknow, which was a low bounce and low totals venue the previous year. Here, the home team typically prefers black to red, and the circumstances varied based on the color of the soil. On Saturday, a red-soil pitch is predicted, which could imply less of a celebration for the spinners and more bounce and pace for the quicks.
If that’s how things play out, LSG’s pace unit will probably be under pressure because, theoretically, Kings’ more all-around attack, which consists of Kagiso Rabada, Sam Curran, Arshdeep Singh, and Harshal Patel, is stronger than their trio of Mohsin Khan, Naveen-ul-Haq, and Yash Thakur (they haven’t looked at Shamar Joseph yet).
How can LSG reconcile? With a batting lineup that includes Quinton de Kock, Marcus Stoinis, Nicholas Pooran, Kyle Mayers, Ayush Badoni, and KL Rahul, they are a high-voltage unit. The batting powerhouse Kings aren’t far behind in the standings, but Jonny Bairstow hasn’t scored for them in the same manner as he did for Sunrisers Hyderabad (he missed IPL 2023 due to injury).
The likes of Prabhsimran Singh, Liam Livingstone, and Shikhar Dhawan, along with the hard-hitting Dhawan, need to make sure that the Kings finish among the top teams in terms of scoring, as opposed to last year, when their combined strike rate of 143.80 was sixth overall.
The consoling aspect LSG will rely on is home advantage in IPL—home teams have won each of the first nine games of the tournament—as they are currently bottom of the table after just one game, while Kings have won one out of two.
After winning their first game, LSG’s new head coach Justin Langer expressed his satisfaction at helping his squad “get a bit of rust out” and his eagerness to take advantage of home-ground advantage.
On paper, LSG’s pace stocks are superior to Kings’, but Langer stated the night before the game that they will hold off on unleashing Shamar Joseph on this league. Regarding Joseph, Langer remarked, “I love his spirit and athleticism but he’s still very young.”
“He’s pushing hard for selection but I don’t think he’ll play tomorrow though.” Langer continued, “LSG will decide a final XI on Saturday, but they have traditionally played three overseas batters and one foreign bowler, which has brought them success.”
Kings started their second game without changing, and they probably won’t change it unless something bothers them.
Pitch and Conditions
In the IPL 2023, the Ekana Stadium was the worst location for hitters. Among the ten locations that saw at least five matches, the average scoring rate was the lowest at 6.93. The highest balls-per-boundary ratio was recorded at 7.7, and bounce was frequently poor, particularly on black-soil surfaces. It will be intriguing to see how these two potent hitting lineups perform in this match.
Also Read: Top 10 Highest Individual Scores in IPL History
Also Read: CSK Debutant’s Respectful Gesture Towards Virat Kohli
Sameer Rizvi’s Explosive IPL Debut Signals a New Era at CSK
After a stunning debut innings as a finisher, Rizvi hopes to continue in that role in CSK’s season of change.
With just ten balls remaining in the Chennai Super Kings innings on Tuesday, Rashid Khan had Shivam Dube holing out for 51 off 23 balls. A crowd of about 33,400 people were expected at Chepauk to witness MS Dhoni take the field for the first time this season. Additionally, the cameras continued to pan to the original finisher; but, CSK unleashed Sameer Rizvi, their new finisher, on Rashid.
With perhaps the greatest spinner in the world against him, the 20-year-old aggressively slog-swept his opening ball in the IPL for a six over square leg. When Rizvi made his entrance known, players and personnel in the dug-out gave one other high fives. Among them were the excellent finisher Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Bravo, who has also finished games for CSK in the past, and a few more.
After three balls, Rizvi ventured to take Rashid’s 96-kilometre-per-hour dart and swung so forcefully that he cleared long-off even though he mishit it. Chepauk began to get used to the new finisher. In the final over, Rizvi attempted to hit another six off Mohit Sharma, but he was caught at the long-on boundary. The harm? 14 off 6 balls in his first IPL innings, at a strike rate of 233.33.
“The coach [Stephen Fleming] told me if a wicket falls, you will go out to bat,” Rizvi said to reporters in Chennai when Rashid arrived to bowl in the 19th over. “I decided after that that since it was the 19th over and a spinner was bowling, anyone who entered the field would be expected to smash boundaries if they were sending me at this stage of the match. Thus, I was very aware that I had to go out and make a big splash because that was the only thought running through my mind.”
In last week’s season-opening match in Chennai against Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Rizvi made his IPL debut. Despite not being able to bat in that game, he acknowledged that playing in front of a boisterous Chepauk crowd made him uneasy. Rizvi, though, was unafraid to face Rashid.
“Before I stepped onto the ground at the team meeting, I received my debut cap,” Rizvi said. “I then discovered that I will be participating in the opening match. Although I never got to bat, I was a little anxious as I was fielding. However, I relaxed a little and didn’t feel anxious during the second game because there was no pressure. After the game, I believe I grew accustomed to the audience, which is why I didn’t feel as under pressure.”
At the December 2023 auction, Rizvi caused a stir by convincing CSK to spend INR 8.4 crore (about $1 million) on him. After hitting the joint most sixes for Kanpur Superstars in the nearby UP T20 competition, he initially came to the attention of scouts.
Then, on a slow surface in Dehradun, he faced the spin combination of Varun Chakravarthy, R Sai Kishore, and Washington Sundar of Tamil Nadu in the 20-over Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. Almost single-handedly, he crushed UP with an undefeated 75 off 46 balls. Then, in mid-March, Rizvi showed up for CSK’s pre-season training in Chennai and won over the management with his six-hitting and range-hitting skills.
“If you look at my previous matches, I have always been playing well against spinners,” Rizvi stated. “I’ve been playing great against spin even at the nets. Tanqib Akhtar, my uncle, used to throw tennis balls in a 30-yard circle to make me practice batting against spin when I was a child. He would declare that it would be a six if it left that 30-yard circle. So, over the years, we continued to practice gradually.”
Did pressure mount due to the high cost of the IPL? “No pressure is present. Price doesn’t ever affect a player’s performance or scoring totals, according to Rizvi. “My brother, MS Bhaiya, has advised me to concentrate on my performance because everyone’s experience has a distinct cost. What matters most is how you function and handle pressure.”
However, Rizvi said that he wasn’t expecting a single team to make such hefty bids. He is now enjoying himself when batting at the nets with Dhoni.
“It was a very nice feeling to be picked by CSK,” he stated. “To meet and play with Mahi bhaiya was my dream.” And that dream came true. Aside from that, I honestly did not think I would be selected for this amount by CSK or any other franchise. However, I felt that they [CSK] had faith in me, and that was really nice. The fact that everyone on this team supports one another and is really helpful is one of my favorite things about them.
“On March 16, the day I joined the squad, I had my first encounter with Dhoni bhaiya. We exchanged a brief “hi, hello” before getting down on the ground. He gave me some advice on how to perform in front of an audience and handle pressure when we were on the ground. I should play my natural game, he advised me.”
In his second IPL match, Rizvi made an impact by batting ahead of Dhoni and Jadeja. At CSK, the season of change has been uneventful thus far.
