Mumbai Indians (MI) will look to continue their attacking game plan against the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), at the Ekana International Cricket Stadium, Lucknow. In their last five matches, MI have emerged victorious in four. In their previous game, they thrashed in-form Gujarat Titans (GT) by 27 runs, and now, their endeavours will be to continue the winning momentum.
With seven victories and five losses, the five-time Indian Premier League (IPL) champions are currently placed in the third position on the points table. From this stage, they will not only strive to reserve their spot in the playoffs but also target to end in the top two to play Qualifier 1 at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on May 23.
Here’s Mumbai Indians’ predicted XI against Lucknow Super Giants:
Openers: Ishan Kishan & Rohit Sharma
Ishan Kishan. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI)
After struggling in the initial matches, Ishan Kishan is in complete control as the left-handed batter performed exceptionally with his bat in the last few outings. His effective starts have helped MI to be in a commanding position. Kishan will now back himself to continue his form to deliver incredible scores to his team.
Rohit Sharma is facing a lot of criticism nowadays due to his dismal batting numbers in the competition. Following his performances, his critics and former cricketers are completely after him. However, the MI skipper got a sigh of relief in the last game as he succeeded in playing a rapid knock of 29 off 18.
Middle Order: Suryakumar Yadav, Nehal Wadhera, Vishnu Vinod, & Tim David
Suryakumar Yadav (Photo Source: BCCI/IPL)
Suryakumar Yadav is giving nightmares to bowlers nowadays as he is producing impactful knocks with his bat consistently. In his last outing against Titans, he powered his team with his unbeaten maiden IPL century and became the Player of the Match. Currently, he is the fourth-leading run-scorer in the competition with 479 runs in 12 matches at an outstanding strike rate of 190.83.
Nehal Wadhera has delivered a few knocks to his team but the middle-order batter will be expected to be consistent. In the 49th league match, his team lost to Chennai Super Kings (CSK) by six wickets at Chepauk. However, the youngster smashed his maiden half-century irrespective of the result.
In the last contest, MI gave a chance to Vishnu Vinod, who played his first IPL match after six years. Playing his maiden IPL 2023 match, the 29-year-old looked confident and chipped in with his brisk knock of 30 off 20 with a couple of maximums and fours. Noting his performance, MI will not hesitate to induct him into their playing XI to take down their opponents.
After Kieron Pollard’s retirement from the league in 2022, MI were finding a perfect match-finisher in Tim David. The Singapore-born Australia cricketer, albeit, took his time to come good with his bat but certainly hasn’t disappointed the five-time IPL title winners with his explosive batting shows. However, the middle-order will be starving to be among the runs in the next match as he couldn’t produce big scores with his bat in the last three games.
All-rounder: Cameron Green
Cameron green. (Photo Source: BCCI/IPL)
Cameron Green was expected to be an ideal all-rounder for MI but the Aussie has not been up to the mark with the ball. While, with the bat, the 23-year-old has done his job efficiently with his decent knocks. As MI are heading towards the conclusion of the league round, they will want Green to perform better with his bowling which will help the Mumbai-based franchise consolidate its position should they go through to the playoffs round.
Bowlers: Chris Jordan, Piyush Chawla, Jason Behrendorff, and Kumar Kartikeya
Kumar Kartikeya (Photo Source: Twitter)
Chris Jordan got a chance to feature in this year’s league as MI picked him up to replace Jofra Archer, who got ruled out of this year’s IPL edition due to an injury. So far, the England pacer has featured in two games, in which he has picked up only one wicket at an expensive economy of 10.25. Going through his experience, Mumbai might give him a chance in further matches but the veteran will have to improve his numbers.
In the bowling department, Piyush Chawla has done a fabulous job for MI. Picking up 19 wickets in 12 matches at an economy of 7.59, he has emerged as the leading wicket-taker for his team and also a contender for Purple Cap. The India veteran’s responsibility will be to maintain his form in the next two matches to help his team to conclude its journey in the top two of the points table at the end of the round-robin stage.
In the absence of MI’s premier bowler, Jasprit Bumrah, Jason Behrendorff has looked fine with the ball. However, his team will want him to not only scalp wickets but also control the flow of runs. Till now, he has hunted 12 batters in eight matches at an expensive economy of 9.71. At the crucial stage of the tournament, his team will expect him to deliver thrifty spells.
Piyush Chawla has reinforced MI’s spin department with his disciplined bowling. However, Mumbai will also need Kumar Kartikeya to turn up against batters to support the 34-year-old. Thus far, Kartikeya has taken five wickets in six matches at an economy of 8.65.
Mumbai Indians (MI) Probable Playing 11:
Rohit Sharma (c), Ishan Kishan (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Nehal Wadhera, Vishnu Vinod, Tim David, Cameron Green, Chris Jordan, Piyush Chawla, Jason Behrendorff, Kumar Kartikeya
Mumbai Indians (MI) Probable Impact Players:
Akash Madhwal, Shams Mulani, Ramandeep Singh, Arshad Khan, Raghav Goyal
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