After suffering a 20-run defeat against RR in Jaipur, the Lucknow Super Giants have now arrived at their home ground. Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium will host LSG’s clash against PBKS on March 30. This venue is set to host seven home games for the KL Rahul-led team this season.
Last season, it was the first time Ekana Cricket Stadium hosted IPL matches. In 2023, the venue hosted a total of seven games, all featuring LSG, out of which they managed to win three games. Last season, one game, the LSG vs CSK clash at Ekana, saw rain playing spoilsport, resulting in no result.
Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium Lucknow Pitch Report for IPL 2024
In the 2023 season, the Lucknow pitch posed a challenge for batters to score quickly. The use of both red and black soil pitches in Ekana generally favors bowlers. Red soil pitches provide pace and allow the ball to spin. On the other hand, black soil pitches present greater challenges for batters as the ball tends to grip and can be hard to time. Therefore, scoring quickly on black soil pitches can be particularly difficult.
The toss doesn’t hold much sway, but opting to bowl first could be the preferred decision during IPL 2024. Teams bowling first will aim to restrict their opponents around 150. However, choosing to bowl first could backfire if the team batting first manages to post a total above 170. Chasing a big total is expected to be challenging at this venue.
Lucknow Cricket Stadium IPL Records
In the seven IPL games held at the Lucknow Stadium to date, the average first innings total has been 152, significantly lower compared to other IPL venues. Notably, a score of 200 has not been achieved in Ekana as far as IPL matches are concerned.
- IPL 2023 Matches Played: 7
- Matches Won by the team batting first: 4
- Matches Won by the team batting second: 2
- No Result: 1
- Biggest score while batting first: Lucknow Super Giants – 193/6 (20) vs Delhi Capitals
- Lowest score while batting first: Sunrisers Hyderabad – 121/8 (20) vs Lucknow Super Giants
- Biggest total chased: Punjab Kings chased 159 vs Lucknow Super Giants
- Lowest Score Defended: Gujarat Titans defended 135 vs Lucknow Super Giants
- Lucknow Cricket Stadium average 1st innings score in IPL 2023: 152
- Lucknow Cricket Stadium average 2nd innings score in IPL 2023: 140
- Best figures for a Pacer: Mark Wood (Lucknow Super Giants) – 5/14 vs Delhi Capitals
- Best figures for a Spinner: Krunal Pandya (Lucknow Super Giants) – 3/18 vs SRH
- Highest score by a Batter: Marcus Stoinis (Lucknow Super Giants) – 89*(47) vs Mumbai Indians
Lucknow Stadium Last IPL Match Scorecard
During the IPL 2023 season, the Ekana Cricket Stadium hosted a match between LSG and Mumbai Indians. Mumbai Indians won the toss and chose to bowl first. However, they conceded 177 runs, which proved to be challenging to chase down. Despite Tim David’s efforts at the end, Mumbai Indians fell short by 5 runs in their chase.
| Lucknow Super Giants: 177-3 (20) | Mumbai Indians: 172-5 (20) |
| Marcus Stoinis: 89*(47) | Ishan Kishan: 59(39) |
| Krunal Pandya: 49(42) | Rohit Sharma: 37(25) |
| Quinton de Kock: 16(15) | Tim David: 32*(19) |
| Jason Behrendorff: 4 – 0 – 30 – 2 | Ravi Bishoni: 4 – 0 – 26 – 2 |
| Piyush Chawla: 3 – 0 – 25 – 1 | Yash Thakur: 4 – 0 – 40 – 2 |
| Mohsin Khan: 3 – 0 – 26 – 1 | |
| Match Result: Lucknow Super Giants won by 5 runs. |