IPL 2026 | Match 32: Lucknow Super Giants vs Rajasthan Royals | Preview and Predictions

Match 32 of the 2026 Indian Premier League season brings us a royal encounter from the land of Nawabs where Rishabh Pant’s Lucknow Super Giants take on Riyan Parag’s Rajasthan Royals at the Ekana Cricket Stadium on 22nd April. 

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

Rishabh Pant’s Lucknow Super Giants have blown hot and cold so far this season. While their bowlers have done a commendable job, their top-heavy batting lineup has flattered to deceive with many key players finding it difficult to find some momentum in the middle. Thus, having won two of their opening three fixtures – this LSG side has now lost three on the bounce. 

In order to make the playoffs 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 opening the batting alongside Mitchell Marsh while the in-form Aiden Markram has been pushed down to #5 in their most recent defeat. 

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

In the bowling department, Prince Yadav has been the standout bowler – picking up 11 wickets in six outings – while the likes of Avesh Khan, Mohammed Shami and Digvesh Rathi have provided solid back-up work as the supporting act. 

In the other camp, after a stellar and flawless start to their campaign, the Rajasthan Royals have now tasted back-to-back defeats against the 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 Ravindra 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 with no significant forecast for rain. With the temperature swinging ranging from 41-24°C, expect dew to come into play – especially in the second half. 

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

Looking ahead to this fixture, Rajasthan Royals – despite losing two on the bounce – come into this fixture as the favourites. Regardless of the last two collapses, the RR batting lineup 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 with their quality spin options. Thus, we’re backing RR to arrest their losing streak and beat the Lucknow Super Giants 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