LUCKNOW, May 19 -- Lucknow Super Giants may have lost their momentum and enthusiasm even as the Rishabh Pant-led side resumes its IPL season on Monday. They will play against Sunrisers Hyderabad, who, with seven points in 11 matches so far, have already been eliminated from the playoffs race. If LSG lose to SRH on Monday, they will be eliminated, too. If they win, they will still be required to win their remaining two matches-against Gujarat Giants on May 22 and Royal Challengers Bengaluru on May 27. But that's not all. After winning all three matches, LSG, with 10 points acquired in 11 matches so far, will hope for one or more in-form teams to suffer a sudden reversal of fortunes for them to make the cut. The game against RCB will be held in Lucknow. LSG, who have lost three matches in a row and four out of their last five, have a terrible NRR of -0.469. They will also be missing pacer Mayank Yadav, who has been ruled out of the event due to the reemergence of back pain. He has been replaced by New Zealand's quick Will O'Rourke. In the present situation (before the Sunday's games), as many as five teams, including Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Gujarat Titans, Punjab Kings, Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals, are already in the race for a berth in the play-offs and it looks a difficult task for the LSG to make the cut given their performance in the last three matches. Skipper Pant's poor form is the biggest worry for the side ahead of their match against SRH. Pant, who was bought by the franchise for Rs 27 crore, has so far scored 128 runs in 10 innings with 63 being his highest at an average of 12.80. In fact, LSG's batting revolves around Nicholas Pooran (410 runs), Mitchell Marsh (378 runs) and Adien Markram (348 runs). The only Indian batter working for LSG is Ayush Badoni, who has, so far, scored 326 runs at an average of 37.80. Undoubtedly, Pooran holds the top spot for LSG this year and represents the next-generation short-format superstar from the West Indies. A powerful left-hand batter, who is a master in handling both pace and spin fearlessly, hits sixes on demand. His 6,367 runs in 278 T20 matches at a strike rate of 153.27 speak volumes of his calibre. In 2023 and 2024, Pooran established himself as LSG's middle-order mainstay, and his batting style prompted LSH to sign him as their top retention at Rs 21 crore. "It's an opportunity for me to learn new things, and I will try to give my best for the side in the remaining three matches of the season," O'Rourke said on the eve of the match. He also expressed satisfaction over the security of the players, especially after tension between India and Pakistan earlier this month. "I am happy with the security arrangements for the players in India right now." Meanwhile, SRH chief coach Daniel Vittori hoped that the team would do their best against LSG even though the face-to-face record between the two sides stood at 4-1 in favour of the hosts. "Things didn't go as per our plan as we failed in batting sometimes, in bowling sometimes and even in fielding. But I still feel that we have an opportunity to show our skills in the remaining matches this season."...