Rajasthan Royals would look to extend their winning streak and consolidate their numero-uno position in the IPL 2024 points table when they take on a confident Lucknow Super Giants at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow in Saturday’s evening game.

RR, the inaugural IPL champions, have been on a rampage this IPL and barring a minor blip against Gujarat Giants, the Sanju Samson-led unit has recorded seven wins from their eight outings so far.

As such, the Pink outfit will start as favourites against Lucknow Super Giants, who too have played some good cricket and are placed fourth with five wins from eight games. Both teams head into the weekend double-header on the back of recording stunning winnings against their respective opponents.

Yashasvi Jaiswal’s form was a major concern for the Royals but the young southpaw’s century against Mumbai Indians in their previous outing has dispelled all such fears, and thus his opening partnership with the in-form Jos Buttler will be crucial as the team inches closer to the business end of the tournament.

The middle order comprising skipper Samson, Assam’s Riyan Parag and West Indian Shimron Hetmyer have been among the runs, and will be expected to play the supporting act if the openers manage to set the tone. Parag has been the team’s highest scorer with 318 runs from eight games with his skipper following him closely with a tally of 314. The likes of Rovman Powell and Dhruv Jurel, though, need to contribute more.

Rajasthan’s bowling has played a crucial role in their wins, as they boast of a potent pace attack comprising the experienced Trent Boult, Avesh Khan and Sandeep Sharma, whose 5 for 18 against Mumbai Indians has really fired up the side. The spin duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Yuzvendra Chahal are proven customers, and have lived up to their billing in the middle overs.

On the other hand, the Lucknow franchise will be eager to continue their brilliant run after hammering Chennai Super Kings twice in a span of three days, and look for a hat-trick of wins on Saturday. Having lost to RR in their IPL opener this season, the KL Rahul-led outfit will also look to avenge that defeat in front of their home crowd.

For that, the LSG management will expect a sound opening start from Rahul and his partner Quinton de Kock. In most of their wins so far, it has been the openers that has set the tone but on their off-days, the team has struggled, barring their previous encounter when Marcus Stoinis raised his hands with a belligerent century to silence a jam-packed MA Chidambaram Stadium crowd.

Despite losing Rahul and de Kock early in the chase of 210/4, Stoinis played one of the best knocks in this IPL, remaining unbeaten on 124 off 63 balls to hand LSG a six-wicket win. Nicholas Pooran and Krunal Pandya can add the brute force, but the team will be expecting handy contributions from the likes of Devdutt Padikkal and Deepak Hooda.

On the bowling front, LSG would be hoping that rookie quick Mayank Yadav returns to action after sitting out for a few games due to a lower abdominal strain. “He is with (assistant coach) Lance Klusener and the rest of the guys in Lucknow, training and getting ready. So I think, anything from the next game onwards, we’ll look to bring him back in,” LSG bowling coach Morne Morkel had said ahead of their last game against CSK.

Mayank’s return will add fire to their potent bowling unit that comprises the likes of Yash Thakur, Mohsin Khan, and Stoinis. Leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi and Krunal Pandya have been impressive in the middle overs.