The weekend is back, and so is the double-header day! On Saturday, April 12, the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) will host the Gujarat Titans (GT) in an afternoon affair at the Ekana Stadium.
Both teams are fresh off a win in their last game, with GT clinching all their previous four fixtures. LSG, meanwhile, have had two back-to-back wins and would do their best to make it three out of three. Nicholas Pooran has been the man for Lucknow, who will have an exciting clash against GT’s Rashid Khan.
Rishabh Pant to drop Bishnoi?
The Rishabh Pant-led side have won three of their last four fixtures. This is despite them missing someone like Mayank Yadav, their middle-overs enforcer. Gladly, LSG have found a gem in Digvesh Rathi. He has played five of his seven T20s in IPL 2025 only and has outbowled international partner Ravi Bishnoi in all the games.
Rathi has kept the opposition’s run-scoring at bay, enjoying a phenomenal economy of 7.75 – the best for any LSG bowler at IPL 2025. Conversely, Bishnoi has been a major letdown. Despite being a regular in the India T20I setup, he has averaged 56.25 runs per wicket this season. In fact, he has operated at an alarming economy of 11.84, which is the worst by any bowler at IPL 2025!
Most expensive bowlers at IPL 2025
| Player | Inns | Overs | Runs | Wkts | BBI | Ave | Econ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ravi Bishnoi | 5 | 19.0 | 225 | 4 | 2/53 | 56.25 | 11.84 |
| Pat Cummins | 5 | 16.4 | 186 | 4 | 2/29 | 46.50 | 11.16 |
| Shardul Thakur | 5 | 17.0 | 184 | 9 | 4/34 | 20.44 | 10.82 |
| Avesh Khan | 4 | 15.0 | 160 | 3 | 1/40 | 53.33 | 10.66 |
| Marco Jansen | 4 | 16.0 | 165 | 3 | 1/28 | 55.00 | 10.31 |
One best alternatives for Bishnoi could be Manimaran Siddharth. The left-arm spinner could fit the role what Sai Kishore does for GT. Also, he can bowl in the powerplay and can negate the the likes of Shubman Gill and Jos Buttler. Despite featuring in five IPL games, Siddharth has enjoyed an economy of 8.62 and could be a perfect spinner to extract purchase off the Ekana deck.
LSG’s Predicted XI vs GT, IPL 2025
| S. No. | Player | Role | Overseas |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aiden Markram | Batter | Yes |
| 2 | Mitchell Marsh | Batter | Yes |
| 3 | Nicholas Pooran | Batter | Yes |
| 4 | Rishabh Pant | (C) Keeper | No |
| 5 | Ayush Badoni | Batter | No |
| 6 | David Miller | Batter | Yes |
| 7 | Abdul Samad | Batter | No |
| 8 | Shardul Thakur | Bowling all-rounder | No |
| 9 | Akash Deep | Pacer | No |
| 10 | Avesh Khan | Pacer | No |
| 11 | Digvesh Rathi | Leg-spinner | No |
| 12 | Ravi Bishnoi/ M Siddharth | Leg-spinner | No |
