Mumbai, Lucknow look inwards as batters hold the key to success

After losing the first two games in the fashion that they did, if anyone would have told Mumbai Indians that they would make it to the playoffs, they would have perhaps bitten their hands off. But it is what it is. Mumbai have scripted an incredible turnaround on the back of their batting might, with Suryakumar Yadav and Cameron Green at the centre of it.

Bowling, however, has continued to be a cause of concern for Mumbai Indians this season and once Jofra Archer left the franchise to continue his rehab in England, Mumbai further found themselves in a tangle. How Mumbai would compensate for that to get the better of Lucknow Super Giants will be a story worth keeping your eyes on. 

On the other hand, Lucknow Super Giants would know that they are the only team in the IPL who have never lost to Mumbai. Extremely reliant on their overseas batters, Lucknow need to bash Chennai's slow and low surface, which had been the primary undoing factor for many sides over the years. Could LSG be that side and land a punch to eliminate the five-time champions?

Things to look forward to

How to tame Quinton de Kock?

First Quinton de Kock arrived late in the IPL due to South Africa’s important World Cup Super League assignment against the Netherlands, and then he had to sit on the bench with Kyle Mayers creating heavy ripples throughout. He returned with a bang, scoring 70 runs in his first game against GT this season but since then, things have gone downhill. He has not crossed the 30-run mark in the next three matches. 

His struggle against leg-spinners has become so evident that all four dismissals this season have come against leggies. While he hasn’t been that bad against googlies, the conventional leg-breaks have been a cause for concern. Just by targeting his stumps, the leg-spinners have managed to keep him in check - something that would keep Piyush Chawla, the season’s best bowler for Mumbai, interested. 

As a matter of fact, Chawla has dismissed the Saffer twice in four innings. Amongst spinners against whom de Kock has played at least 10 deliveries in T20s, he has his lowest average against Piyush Chawla. So there is no way Rohit Sharma is not bringing in Chawla up front. 

The Green formula to success for Mumbai

When Mumbai shelled out Rs 17.50 Crore for Cameron Green, it raised a lot of eyebrows as the all-rounder was still a greenhorn in the shortest format of the game. His viability in the league was more of a chance than anything else, but boy has the Western Australian proven everyone wrong.

All of his top three scores in T20s have been in IPL 2023, including his maiden T20 hundred in the last league match against Sunrisers Hyderabad. He is one of just four batters to have an average of 50+ and an SR of 150+ this season and is one of two overseas batters on this list.

Batting at No.3 has clicked well for him this season, as he has scored close to 350 runs at an average close to 60 and an SR over 160. He is one of just two batters to have an SR of 140 or more across all three phases of the game, something that would allow Mumbai to exploit Lucknow's inconsistent bowling.

Pitch and Conditions

By the end of the league phase, teams winning the toss have opted to bowl first in four matches at the MA Chidambaram Stadium and the chasing team has won four matches here in IPL 2023. The average first innings score at this venue has been 168, whereas the average first-innings winning score has been 186.

Both pacers and spinners have taken wickets at this venue, with the latter having a better economy rate. Teams outscoring the opposition in the powerplay have won all but two games at this venue in IPL 2023.

Tactical Nous

>> Suryakumar Yadav has been dismissed thrice by Ravi Bishnoi in IPL, which is the batter’s joint-most against a spinner. Amongst spinners against whom Suryakumar has batted at least 20 balls in IPL, he has his lowest SR against Bishnoi.

>>  LSG bowlers have struggled to pick wickets in the powerplay and get the team off to a good start as they finished the league stage with the least wickets to their name in this phase. Consequently, LSG also have the highest average and SR in this phase. That allows Mumbai to pick on them right from the beginning.

Team news and combination

Lucknow Super Giants: Kyle Mayers, Quinton de Kock (WK), Prerak Mankad, Marcus Stoinis, Krunal Pandya (C), Nicholas Pooran, Ayush Badoni, K Gowtham, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohsin Khan, Yash Thakur

Mumbai Indians:  Rohit Sharma (C), Ishan Kishan (WK), Cameron Green, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Nehal Wadhera, Tim David, Chris Jordan, Piyush Chawla, Akash Madhwal, Hrithik Shokeen