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Lucknow Super Giants
Kolkata Knight Riders
Lucknow Super Giants will face Kolkata Knight Riders in the 39th match of the Indian Premier League 2026 at Ekana Cricket Stadium. Both teams will come into this game after poor starts to the season, at the bottom of the points table.
Lucknow Super Giants sit 9th with 2 wins and 5 losses, along with a net run rate of -1.277. Kolkata Knight Riders are 10th with 1 win and 5 losses, with a slightly better net run rate of -0.879. LSG will come after 4 straight defeats, while KKR will gain some confidence after a win following 3 losses.
In head-to-head results, LSG leads 3-2 in the last 5 meetings. 3 matches have been won by the team defending totals.
Prince Yadav has taken 13 wickets in 7 matches at a strike rate of 12 this season, which shows he has picked up wickets regularly and in clusters.
The betting tip is...
Prince Yadav - Over 1.5 overs
71 %
29 %
Lucknow Super GiantsKolkata Knight RidersMitchell Marsh and Ayush Badoni have opened the innings in two consecutive matches. Aiden Markram was pushed down the order earlier to fit Rishabh Pant at the top and later for Badoni. Marsh scored 55 off 41 in the last match and showed steady improvement with scores of 40 off 32 against RCB and 40 off 28 against PBKS. In that last match, Badoni, Pant and Markram were dismissed for zero.
Aiden Markram remained their most reliable batter, scoring 120 runs in 7 matches at a strike rate above 150. Nicholas Pooran struggled for form with scores of 8, 1, 13, 19, 1 and 22 this season. In the last match against RR, LSG collapsed to 119 with 8 batters getting out in single digits.
Prince Yadav has led the bowling attack with 13 wickets in 7 matches. Mohammed Shami picked up 7 wickets at an economy below 7. Avesh Khan has 5 wickets, while Digvesh Rathi returned with 0/26. Mayank Yadav also returned but conceded 56 runs without a wicket.
Shami, Prince and Marsh are in-form players.
Predicted Lineup: Mitchell Marsh, Ayush Badoni, Rishabh Pant (c, wk), Aiden Markram, Nicholas Pooran, Mukul Choudhary, Mohammed Shami, Avesh Khan, Prince Yadav, Mayank Yadav, Mohsin Khan.
KKR have shown inconsistency in both batting and bowling. Sunil Narine opened alongside Finn Allen in recent matches, with Ajinkya Rahane moving to number three. In the last match, Rahane returned to the opening role with Tim Seifert, while Allen was dropped.
Angkrish Raghuvanshi stood out with 165 runs in 7 innings at a strike rate above 155, including two fifties. Ajinkya Rahane contributed 124 runs at a strike rate over 150, though his scoring slowed after the power play. Cameron Green and Rinku Singh improved their form, both registering fifties in recent matches.
Vaibhav Arora picked up 6 wickets but conceded 55 and 37 runs in his last two matches. Kartik Tyagi took 8 wickets but went at over 10 runs per over. Varun Chakaravarthy returned after being dropped and delivered 3/14 in 4 overs. Sunil Narine remained effective, bowling 2/26 in his 4 overs in the last match.
Tyagi, Arora and Narine are the key bowlers.
Predicted Lineup: Ajinkya Rahane (c), Finn Allen/Tim Seifert, Cameron Green, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Rinku Singh, Rovman Powell, Ramandeep Singh, Vaibhav Arora, Sunil Narine, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kartik Tyagi.
LSG will have a slight edge in this match due to better bowling form. Prince Yadav and Mohammed Shami have delivered consistently this season, and that will play a key role on a pitch where defending totals have worked.
Prince has averaged close to 2 wickets per match, which is higher than any other bowler in this contest, and he will likely make an early impact again.
Both teams have struggled with batting depth, with only a few players contributing regularly. KKRβs batting has lacked consistency, so if LSG bowls first or defends a total, their bowlers are likely to control the game.
