IPL 2023 Factbox: Everything you need to know about Lucknow Super Giants

IPL titles: 0 How did they fare last season For a team in their debut IPL season and to qualify for the playoffs is no mean feat, and Lucknow Super Kings did exactly that in their maiden outing, at IPL 2022. Under the captaincy of KL Rahul, who himself had a productive run with the bat (616), LSG went onto finish the league stage in third place, with 18 points (NRR of +0.251). They narrowly missed out on a top-two finish to 2008 champions Rajasthan Royals, who also finished with 18 points but had a superior NRR of +0.298. LSG had a couple of winning streaks, but three losses in their last four games of the season, meant that they had to settle for an Eliminator spot. After beginning their season with a defeat to Gujarat Titans, LSG went onto beat CSK, SRH and DC off their next three games. LSG’s longest winning streak of four games came at the halfway stage of the tournament, when they beat MI, PBKS, DC and KKR. In the Eliminator, the Super Giants faced Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in Kolkata, where they failed to chase down a total of 208, despite contributions from KL Rahul (79) and Deepak Hooda (45). The Super Giants were eventually restricted to 193/6 from 20 overs. Win percentage Including their Eliminator against RCB, LSG played a total of 15 games, and went onto win nine matches and end up with a win percentage of 60 per cent. Highest run-getter: KL Rahul (616 runs) Skipper Rahul led Lucknow Super Giants from the front in the team’s debut season, and like a few previous seasons, Rahul produced worthwhile performances with the bat, finishing as the teams’ top run-scorer with 616 runs. Overall, Rahul finished as the second highest run scorer, behind Orange Cap winner Jos Buttler (863 runs) . Rahul scored his runs at an average of 51.33 and a strike rate of 135.38. Rahul amassed two fifties and four centuries during IPL 2022, and his highest score of 103 not out came during a league game against Mumbai Indians (MI) in April last year. Highest wicket-taker: Avesh Khan (18 wickets) Building up on his productive IPL season in 2021, Avesh Khan continued where he had left off, scalping 18 wickets from 13 matches to finish the 2022 season as LSG’s top wicket-taker. Avesh’s best figures of 4/24 had come in a league match against SRH. Avesh first got rid of SRH openers Abhishek Sharma and Kane Williamson inside the powerplay overs, before seeing off Nicholas Pooran and Abdul Samad off two consecutive balls in the 18th over. LSG eventually went onto win the match by 12 runs. Highest individual score: Quinton de Kock (140 runs) South Africa’s Quinton de Kock registered LSG’s highest individual score, when he massed 140 runs in just 70 deliveries against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). QDK’s quickfire knock came in the second half of the season against KKR, when he was involved in an unbeaten 210-run stand with skipper KL Rahul. De Kock ran riot all over the stadium, slamming 10 fours and as many sixes, and finish his innings with a strike-rate of 200. Highest team score: 211/4 vs CSK Lucknow Super Giants successfully chased down a total of 211 against Chennai Super Kings, one of the most successful teams in the history of IPL. LSG had won the toss and opted to field against the Super Kings, and while they would have rued their decision to bowl, openers Rahul (40) and Quinton de Kock (61) ave LSG a strong start in the chase, forging a 99-run stand before the skipper departed. The Super Giants were 139/3 in the 15th over, but Evin Lewis (55*) and Ayush Badoni (19*) made a strong recovery to help LSG chase down the total with just three balls to spare. Favourite opponent: Mumbai Indians Beating Mumbai Indians at the IPL is not an easy task whatsoever. They are five-time IPL champions, the most successful franchise in the history of the tournament, but last season was not MI’s season. LSG, in their debut season, completed a double over Rohit Sharma’s Mumbai Indians. While LSG won the first contest in April by 18 runs, their second encounter at the Wankhede Stadium was an even bigger win, clinching the match by 36 runs. Purchases, releases and squad Purchased players at IPL 2023 Auction: Nicholas Pooran (Rs 16 Cr), Jaydev Unadkat (Rs 50 lakh), Yash Thakur (Rs 45 lakh), Romario Shepherd (Rs 50 lakh), Daniel Sams (Rs 75 lakh), Amit Mishra (Rs 50 lakh), Prerak Mankad (Rs 20 lakh), Swapnil Singh (Rs 20 lakh), Naveen UL Haq (Rs 50 lakh), Yudhvir Charak (Rs 20 lakh) Retained players: KL Rahul, Ayush Badoni, Karan Sharma, Manan Vohra, Quinton de Kock, Marcus Stoinis, Krishnappa Gowtham, Deepak Hooda, Kyle Mayers, Krunal Pandya, Avesh Khan, Mohsin Khan, Mark Wood, Mayank Yadav, Ravi Bishnoi Released players: Andrew Tye, Ankit Rajpoot, Dushmantha Chameera, Evin Lewis, Jason Holder, Manish Pandey, Shahbaz Nadeem LSG full squad: KL Rahul, Ayush Badoni, Karan Sharma, Manan Vohra, Quinton de Kock, Marcus Stoinis, Krishnappa Gowtham, Deepak Hooda, Kyle Mayers, Krunal Pandya, Avesh Khan, Mohsin Khan, Mark Wood, Mayank Yadav, Ravi Bishnoi, Nicholas Pooran, Jaydev Unadkat, Yash Thakur, Romario Shepherd, Daniel Sams, Amit Mishra, Prerak Mankad, Swapnil Singh, Naveen-ul-Haq, Yudhvir Charak. 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