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Lucknow: Lucknow Super Giants, who are suffering consecutive defeats, will face the comeback Kolkata Knight Riders in the 38th match of the Indian Premier League at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium on Sunday. This match is like ‘do or die’ for both the teams, as both the teams are struggling this season and their future stands at a crucial juncture, but the current situation (momentum) of both of them is completely different. Lucknow is struggling with four consecutive defeats and is slipping down in the points table, while Kolkata will enter the field with new confidence after registering its first win of this season.

For Lucknow, lack of consistency in batting has been the biggest concern. The opening pair of Mitchell Marsh and Ayush Badoni has failed to give a solid start to the team, which has increased the initial pressure on captain Rishabh Pant. The middle-order batting comprising Nicholas Pooran, Aiden Markram, Mukul Chaudhary and Himmat Singh has performed well on a few occasions, but they seem to lack collective consistency. Marsh is the team’s leading run-scorer and a ray of hope for the team, while Markram’s aggressive approach has provided some momentum to the team’s batting.

However, the struggles of Pooran and Pant have significantly hurt the team’s ability to finish matches strongly. Young player Mukul Choudhary has emerged as a key contributor; Especially his match-winning innings played against Kolkata at the beginning of this season has given hope to the team in a bad phase. The bowling department, on the other hand, has been largely reliable. Prince Yadav has commanded the bowling attack brilliantly with the support of experienced bowlers Mohammed Shami and Mohsin Khan. With additional support from Digvijay Singh Rathi and fast bowling sensation Mayank Yadav, Lucknow have enough resources to challenge any batting line-up.

Meanwhile, Kolkata has seen a ray of hope after breaking their losing streak. Captain Ajinkya Rahane, along with Tim Seifert, will try to give a strong start to the team; Whereas options like Finn Allen and Sunil Narine provide more flexibility to the team’s top order. The main batting responsibility will largely fall on the shoulders of youngster Angkrish Raghuvanshi, who has been the team’s most consistent performer this season; Cameron Green, who is in excellent form, is also present to support him.

Power-hitters Rovman Powell and Rinku Singh provide more depth to the team’s batting, while Ramandeep Singh and Anukul Roy work to maintain balance in the team. Kolkata’s bowling, which was a matter of concern earlier, showed a lot of improvement in the last match. Varun Chakravarthy and Kartik Tyagi performed brilliantly, taking vital wickets, while Vaibhav Arora and Narine provided control and variety to the bowling. The Ekana Stadium has been helpful for the bowlers this season; It has been a bit difficult to score runs here and the pitch helps fast bowlers as well as spinners. Teams chasing the target have had more success here, so the toss could prove to be a decisive aspect of this match.

Lucknow are desperate to stop their losing streak, while Kolkata are keen to maintain their newfound momentum; In such a situation, this match will witness a tremendous competition between pressure and comeback. For one team, this match could prove to be the beginning of a turnaround in their fortunes, while for the other team it could add to their existing troubles – overall, this match is going to be a very important and defining moment in their entire campaign.