KKR vs LSG Odds, Team News And Betting Tips

The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) are set to play the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) for the second time during the 2022 IPL season when they clash on May 18 at the DY Patil stadium. The first time these two sides faced each other was on May 7and LSG ended up winning that match comfortably.

As we get towards the end of the IPL regular season, it has become crunch time for a lot of teams as they need to win just about every game to make the 2022 IPL playoffs. This is not a do-or-die game for LSG as they are currently sitting on 16 points along with the Rajasthan Royals (RR). The Royals are in second place on the IPL points table as they have a superior net run-rate than LSG who are in third place.

LSG would love to win this game against KKR and confirm a spot in the 2022 IPL playoffs. LSG have played 13 games, won 8 and lost 5 games so far.

For KKR, this is going to be a crunch game as KKR are currently on 12 points along with Delhi Capitals (DC) and Punjab Kings (PBKS). DC are in 5^th place due to a better net run rate while KKR are in 6^th place and PBKSare in 7^th place. If KKR wins their next game against LSG and does so convincingly, they will move closer to qualifying for the 2022 IPL playoffs. Alternatively, if they end up losing and lose badly, they will most likely be out of the race for the 2022 IPL playoffs.

Will KKR be able to avenge their loss against LSG on May 18 or will LSG get the better of KKR once again? Our experts take a look at the KKR vs LSG betting odds and share their thoughts on which team will end up winning.

KKR vs LSG Betting Sites

KKR vs LSG Odds

While LSG are ranked higher than KKR on the IPL points table, LSG has lost their last two games while KKR have won their last two games. The momentum is definitely with KKR as LSG are looking to bounce back with a win.

Bet365 has LSG as the betting favorites with odds of 1.73 while KKR are the underdogs with odds of 2.1. Our IPL betting experts think the odds are a lot closer in this game, simply because KKR has the momentum on their side.

KKR vs LSG Match Prediction

KKR have this reputation of blowing hot and cold throughout each IPL season and this year has been no different for them. They tend to fail when it comes to big moments and hence we are going to back LSG to win this game.

Here are the key factors that will determine the outcome of this game.

Struggling Openers

These two teams have struggled in most games when their openers have failed. We believe the team that has the better opening partnership in this game, will be in a better position to win.

Quinton de Kock and Captain KL Rahul are the best opening combination that LSG has to offer. These two scored just 17 runs together in their last outing against RR. One of them needs to make a big score and take the pressure off the middle order.

KKR have once again experimented with their opening combination as they are relying on the experience of A Rahane to bail them out along with V Iyer. The problem for KKR is that Rahane does not score quickly at the top of the order and that puts pressure on V Iyer. If KKR fail at the top of the order again, they will struggle to win this game.

Captaincy Test

This game will also test the leadership skills of both KL Rahul and S Iyer and the captain that holds their nerve and makes better decisions on the night, will get their team over the line.

We found KL Rahul’s decisions against the RR to be a bit baffling and quite possibly cost KKR the game. He used a total of 8 bowlers against RR and missed a trick or two by not bowling out some of his best bowlers. He also made some strange decisions with the batting order as we felt he brought in M Stoinis and J Holder far too late in the game. If Rahul makes similar decisions against LSG, the game will be over pretty quickly.

While KL Rahul is a good captain, we feel that S Iyer is a more astute captain and is a better man-manager in terms of working with what resources he has. He got the batting order almost right against SRH in their last game and certainly did a great job with rotating his bowlers.

KKR vs LSG Betting Tips

Some of the bets that you can wager on this game apart from the outright result are:

KKR vs LSG Top Batsman

We expect a lot of runs to be scored in this game. The three batters to watch out for are LSG captain KL Rahul (3.1), M Stoinis (7) and D Hooda (5.5) while the top three batters for KKR are S Iyer (4.33), N Rana (5), and A Russell (6.5).

We are backing KL Rahul to be the top batsman in the game.

KKR vs LSG Top Bowler

We think KKR have the better bowling lineup. Their top bowlers will be T Southee (4.33), S Narine (3.75), and V Chakravarthy (3.75). LSG will be looking to A Khan (3.4), M Khan (5), and K Pandya (5.5) to pick up quick wickets and help them win this game.

We are backing Avesh Khan for this market.

KKR vs LSG Player of the Match

Both sides have a number of big stars in their squad that can change the game with a match-winning performance. The three players that can win the game for LSG are KL Rahul (6), Deepak Hooda (12), and A Khan (13) while the three likely stars for KKR are going to be their captain S Iyer (9), star all-rounder A Russell (7) and T Southee (19).

KKR vs LSG Projected Playing XI

We expect both teams to stick to a similar playing XI that has featured in the last game.

Kolkata Knight Riders: V Iyer, A Rahane, N Rana, S Iyer (C), S Billings, A Russell, S Narine, R Singh, T Southee, U Yadav, V Chakravarthy.

Lucknow Super Giants: KL Rahul (C), Quinton de Kock, A Badoni, M Stoinis, J Holder, Deepak Hooda, Krunal Pandya, M Khan, Ravi Bishnoi, A Khan, Dushmantha Chameera.

KKR vs LSG Head To Head

These two teams have met just once so far in IPL history. Their first encounter was on May 07 and it was a one-sided affair as LSG dominated KKR and defeated them by 75 runs. We expect this game on May 18 to be a lot closer.