The last time these two teams met, KL Rahul scored a hundred, Avesh Khan ran through Mumbai Indians' line-up without breaking a sweat and Suryakumar Yadav held his ground. In the 37th match, Lucknow Super Giants face Mumbai Indians—who happen to be virtually out of the tournament—at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. Here is the team analysis:
Team analysis of Mumbai Indians
Strengths: Not much to do here, other than remain bottom. What MI can do is play an unfiltered and decluttered game with no thoughts about qualifying for the playoffs.
For whatever happened with Daniel Sams against KKR on that ill-fated night, he was bowling his best deliveries against CSK, mixing it up and picking up wickets. Hrithik Shokeen playing his match displayed his temperament, composure, and some good off-spin.
Speaking of temperament, how can we not talk about their future star NT Tilak Varma, who is having an exceptional first season with the bat.
Weaknesses: The opening duo of Rohit Sharma—who averaged less than 30 from 3 seasons—and Ishan Kishan—who seems spooked—are struggling to connect the bat with the ball.
They've, time and again, dropped players after playing them for one game. They should give them more time and back them to perform. To address Pollard's slump in performance, they need to replace him with either Fabian Allen or Tim David.
Team analysis of Lucknow Super Giants
Strengths: Their strength, as seen on paper when they got done with the auction, is having a team with a majority of all-rounders with different skill sets.
Their bowling in the slog overs has been impressive. They've managed to pick 20 wickets in that phase, which is the most by any team in this season of IPL, and that too, at a 7.20 strike rate.
The batting order may not be as dominant or belligerent as that of the Delhi Capitals in the power play. But they consistently score runs and the strike rate increases by 57 per cent from the start to the end overs.
In the middle overs, it's up to Krunal Pandya and Ravi Bishnoi, who have bowled well in tandem at an economy of 8 runs per over and picking 18 wickets.
Weaknesses: They've time and again failed to rejuvenate or replace Manish Pandey. Also, they've not made Marcus Stoinis bat in the top 4, which, in itself, deserves a lot more flak.
Impact player for MI
Jasprit Bumrah: The only bowler right now for Mumbai Indians' who has performed exceptionally well. He may not have wickets to show but the way he has delivered those pressure overs with so much ease is something that is rarely remembered.
Impact player for LSG
Marcus Stoinis: An aggressive opener, a dependable number 3, and a pinch hitter at the end. He has different facets to his game and whenever he plays, he always leaves his mark on it.
Head-to-head: 1
LSG won: 1
MI won: 0
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