IPL 2023, SRH vs LSG: Decoding the key player battles 

Sunrisers Hyderabad and Lucknow Super Giants will lock horns in Match 58 as the race for the 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL) playoffs heats up. While LSG have five wins in 11 games (NR: 1), SRH have clinched just four of their 10 matches. LSG beat SRH by five wickets earlier this season. Here we decode the anticipated player battles.

As both Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Quinton de Kock open the proceedings in their respective departments, they are bound to tackle each other. The SRH pacer is yet to dismiss the southpaw after bowling to him in 10 IPL innings. De Kock has accumulated 49 runs off as many deliveries in this battle. The dasher has fallen prey to Bhuvneshwar once in four T20I meetings.

Nicholas Pooran has a strike rate of 150 in the last five overs this season. The West Indies dasher might tackle T Natarajan in this phase as the pacer is known to nail pin-point yorkers. Pooran has smashed the left-arm pacer for 31 runs off 19 balls without being dismissed. This season, Natarajan has been conceding runs at 9.50 in the last five overs.

Abhishek Sharma has been giving SRH fiery starts lately. The southpaw has a strike rate of 149.20 in powerplay this year. The SRH star would tackle the left-arm pace of Mohsin Khan early on. Mohsin, who can swing the new ball, has an economy rate of 6.55 in powerplay in IPL. He, however, returned with 1/42 in three overs in his preceding outing.

Heinrich Klaasen has played some breathtaking cameos for SRH down the order this year. His strike rate of 185.34 is the third-highest among batters with at least 100 runs this season. As leg-spinners have dismissed him twice this season, Ravi Bishnoi can be unleashed against him. Bishnoi has claimed 12 wickets in 11 games this season, conceding runs at 7.91.

Hyderabad's Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium will host this duel on May 13 (3:30pm). A balanced track could be on display with a bit of help for everyone. There will be some swing on offer for the pacers initially. The spinners might extract turn in the middle overs. Star Sports will telecast the match, while fans can also live-stream it on JioCinema.