RR look for immediate course correction after Super over defeat

It has been a season of more lows than highs so far, for the Rajasthan Royals, which has seen them accumulate only four points from the seven games they have played. Coming off a defeat in a Super Over against the Delhi Capitals in their last outing, which arguably shouldn't have gone that far, hasn't helped their fortunes as an uphill task awaits them for the rest of this season's IPL.

Multiple batting order changes and poor death bowling have been the story of Royals season so far. Riyan Parag has been a shadow of himself following his 573-run season last year. But the bright spark for them has been Yashasvi Jaiswal who has slowly appeared to find his mojo following two successive fifties in the last two games.

Unfortunately, for the Royals their bowling hasn't covered themselves in glory either. Barring Jofra Archer who has picked up five wickets in the PowerPlay, the rest of their bowlers have struggled in this phase with only two wickets combined. The bowling unit have also conceded the most number of runs by through extras so far amongst all teams worth 83 runs. It remains to be said that the Royals were accurate with the ball against the Capitals until the 15th over when their death bowling let them down again. The Royals have conceded at 12.3 runs an over this year at the death and would look to address these concerns on a bigger ground in Jaipur.

Lucknow Super Giants, on the other hand, have been a surprise package this season. Mitchell Marsh and Nicholas Pooran have arguably been the standout batters in the tournament so far while Rishabh Pant's timely half-century against CSK only augurs well for the franchise. LSG have been slightly behind the eight-ball with the pacers but will be buoyed by their spinners, especially Digvesh Singh Rathi who has nine wickets so far this season.

With the tournament nearing its halfway stage both teams will be eyeing the two points as the race for the playoffs begins to slowly take shape.

When:Rajasthan Royals vs Lucknow Super Giants, Match 36, IPL 2025, April 19, 19:30 IST

Where: Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur

What to expect:It is expected to be another hot day in Jaipur with maximum temperatures of 39 degrees Celsius with no chance of any rain. The pitch played slightly slower in the first innings in the first game at this venue which was a day game and therefore, expect the side winning the toss to take the field first.

Head to Head:RR 4-1 LSG. LSG's sole victory against the Royals came at the same ground back in 2023.

Team News:

Rajasthan Royals

Tactics and match-ups: How to stop Nicholas Pooran is the question on many a team's mind in this season. And Rajasthan might have a card to play here. Jofra Archer has the wood over Pooran in T20s, dismissing him thrice in 36 balls, conceding just 39 runs. If it comes to that, this match-up could be a good contest.

Injury & Availability: Sanju Samson hurt his side while trying to play a cut shot in the Royals last outing against Delhi Capitals on Wednesday (April 16) which forced the Royals captain to walk off 'retired hurt'. He mentioned in the post-match interview that he feels alright but the exact extent of the injury remains to be unknown.

Probable XII: Sanju Samson (c and wk), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Riyan Parag, Nitish Rana, Dhruv Jurel, Shimron Hetmyer, Shubham Dubey, Wanindu Hasaranga, Jofra Archer, Maheesh Theekshana, Tushar Deshpande/ Akash Madhwal, Sandeep Sharma

Lucknow Super Giants

Injury & Availability: Fast-bowling prodigy Mayank Yadav has joined the Super Giants camp but whether he obtains clearance to play against the Royals remains to be seen

Tactics & Matchups: In four out of six innings this season, Riyan Parag has been dismissed by pace. Lucknow would have an eye on this stat when Parag comes out to bat, even though his strike-rate against pace has gone up since the previous season.

Probable XII: Mitchell Marsh, Aiden Markram, Nicholas Pooran, Ayush Badoni, Rishabh Pant (c and wk), David Miller, Abdul Samad, Shardul Thakur, Avesh Khan, Prince Yadav/ Akash Deep, Digvesh Singh Rathi, Ravi Bishnoi

Did you know?

- In twelve T20 innings in 2025, Sanju Samson averages only 25.00 with just one fifty against his name

- Nicholas Pooran's strke-rate of 272 against spin is the best by any batter in the history of the IPL (for those who have faced more than 50 balls of spin)