IPL 2023, LSG vs MI | Lucknow looks to be holding back Mumbai’s momentum in the crucial clash

Mumbai Indians’ Suryakumar Yadav is back to his stunning best and has played a major role in Mumbai’s wins in the past two games. MI will once again go with the swashbuckling middle-order batsman to deliver against LSG. | Photo Credit: EMMANUAL YOGINI

Mumbai Indians are on a roll at the business end of the tournament and Lucknow Super Giants will aim to halt their momentum on a tricky IPL pitch in Lucknow on Tuesday (May 16).

Mumbai Indians are third in the points table with 14 points and with fewer points in the same number of games, LSG is holding the fourth spot.

Both teams are looking to get out of the danger zone while eight teams remain in play-off contention.

Suryakumar Yadav is back to his stunning best and has played a major role in Mumbai’s wins in the past two games.

Short of a run in the tournament, Rohit Sharma also found some rhythm against Gujarat Giants and will be looking to play a mighty knock at the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Cricket Stadium.

In Tilka Varma’s absence, Mumbai have found a great replacement in Nehal Wadehra, who seems to be getting better every time on the big stage.

On the bowling front, veteran spinner Piyush Chawla continued to make life difficult for the batters while rookie Akash Badhwal gave the pace attack a much-needed boost.

Death bowling remains a concern with Jofra Archer’s replacement Chris Jordan leaking the last two games.

It is expected to be another low-scoring game here and the spinners on both sides may decide the fate of the game.

Leggie Ravi Bishnoi was the leading wicket taker for LSG and captain Krunal Pandya also showed what he can do with his left-arm spin against Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Veteran spinner Amit Mishra is also expected to come in considering the conditions. The pacers have proved quite expensive especially Avesh Khan, who has an economy rate of 9.75 after nine games.

The batting looks formidable despite the absence of the injured KL Rahul. Quinton de Kock made an immediate impact in place of Rahul at the top while Kyle Mayers was LSG’s leading run getter in the competition.

Then they have players who can win for the game even from a hopeless situation, like Nicholas Pooran did against Sunrisers.

Saurasthra batter Prerak Mankad showed what he can do at number three in the last game and will come out with added confidence on Tuesday night.

Groups:

Lucknow Super Giants: Krunal Pandya (captain), Kyle Mayers, Deepak Hooda, Amit Mishra, Nicholas Pooran (wk), Naveen ul Haq, Ayush Badoni, Avesh Khan, Karan Sharma, Yudhvir Charak, Yash Thakur, Romario Shepherd, Mark Wood, Swapnil Singh, Manan Vohra, Daniel Sams, Prerak Mankad, Krishnappa Gowtham, Marcus Stoinis, Ravi Bishnoi, Karun Nair and Mayank Yadav.

Indians in Mumbai: Rohit Sharma (captain), Chris Jordan, Arshad Khan, Jason Behrendorff, Dewald Brevis, Piyush Chawla, Tim David, Raghav Goyal, Cameron Green, Ishan Kishan (wk), Duan Jansen, Chris Jordan, Kumar Kartikeya, Akash Madhwal, Riley Meredith , Shams Mulani, Ramandeep Singh, Sandeep Warrier, Hrithik Shokeen, Tristan Stubbs, Arjun Tendulkar, Tilak Varma, Vishnu Vinod, Nehal Wadhera, Suryakumar Yadav.