IPL 2026 | Match 32: LSG vs RR | Preview and Predictions

Match 32 of the 2026 Indian Premier League (IPL) season brings us a royal encounter from the land of nawabs, with Rishabh Pant’s Lucknow Super Giants taking on Riyan Parag’s Rajasthan Royals at the Ekana Cricket Stadium on April 22. 

For the game, here we present our preview and predictions.

Indian Premier League 2026 | Match 32: Lucknow Super Giants vs Rajasthan Royals | 19:30 IST, 22 April 2026

The Super Giants have blown hot and cold so far this season. While their bowlers have done a commendable job, their top-heavy batting line-up has flattered to deceive, with many key players struggling to find some momentum in the middle. After winning two of their opening three fixtures, LSG have lost three on the bounce. 

In order to make the play-offs for the first time in three seasons, LSG first need to sort out their batting combination. Match 29 saw another new opening combination, with Ayush Badoni coming out to bat alongside Mitchell Marsh, while the in-form Aiden Markram was pushed down to No. 5 in their most recent defeat. 

With almost half the season gone, not a single LSG batter has crossed the 200-run mark, while both Rishabh Pant (147 runs) and Nicholas Pooran (51 runs) are struggling to carry the innings forward through the middle overs. While the young Mukul Choudhary has stepped up in recent weeks, without the top five firing, it’ll be a tall ask for LSG to mount a serious comeback in the second half of the season. 

In the bowling department, Prince Yadav has been LSG’s standout bowler, having picked up 11 wickets in six outings, while the likes of Avesh Khan, Mohammed Shami, and Digvesh Rathi have provided solid back-up work to the 24-year-old. 

In the other camp, after a stellar and flawless start to their campaign, the Rajasthan Royals have now tasted back-to-back defeats, against SunRisers Hyderabad and the Kolkata Knight Riders away from home. 

RR have been heavily dependent on their top three for runs, with Yashasvi Jaiswal, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, and Dhruv Jurel doing the bulk of the scoring. The middle and lower orders haven’t done much, though, and when they got the chance against the SunRisers and the Knight Riders, they collapsed.

Middle-order batters Shimron Hetmyer and Riyan Parag haven’t put up any substantial scores yet. Ravindra Jadeja and Donovan Ferreira have provided some stability and runs lower down the order, but the RR management will know that they’ll need their middle order to step up as they go deep into the tournament.

With the ball, RR’s stand-out bowler this season has been spinner Ravi Bishnoi, while overseas seamers Jofra Archer and Nandre Burger have been quick and picked up wickets regularly with the new ball. Both Sandeep Sharma and Tushar Deshpande have leaked some runs, with newcomer Brijesh Sharma filling in from time to time, while Jadeja hasn’t been used regularly, although he’s done well whenever called upon.

In terms of weather forecast and pitch report, conditions are expected to be hot and humid for this game, with no significant forecast for rain. With the temperature ranging 24–41°C, expect dew to come into play, especially in the second half. 

The pitch at the Ekana Cricket Stadium for IPL 2026 has been a balanced wicket, assisting both batters and bowlers. Seamers tend to do well with the new ball, while spinners come into play during the middle overs. 

Looking ahead to this fixture, the Rajasthan Royals, despite losing two on the bounce, come into this fixture as favourites for the win. Regardless of the last two collapses, their batting line-up is far stronger and deeper than their LSG counterparts, while they also have the bowling attack to trouble the LSG batters with both the new ball and through the middle overs with quality spin options.

We’re backing RR to arrest their losing streak and beat LSG away from home in Match 32.

Fantasy XI: Vaibhav Suryavanshi (c), Ayush Badoni, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel, Aiden Markram (vc), Mukul Choudhary, Riyan Parag, Ravindra Jadeja, Jofra Archer, Prince Yadav, Ravi Bishnoi

Venue: Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow
Winners Prediction: Rajasthan Royals