After an indifferent start to their campaigns, Lucknow Super Giants and Mumbai Indians have found their bearings towards the business end of the tournament as they get ready to square off in the Eliminator of the IPL 2023 at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium on Wednesday.
While there is little to separate the two sides, the Super Giants might feel it has a slight edge. The Krunal Pandya-led team has never lost to the MI in their three meetings over the last two years. LSG also got the better of MI in their only clash this year - winning by five runs in Lucknow.
After struggling for consistency in the early part of the season, Lucknow comes into this fixture with three consecutive wins behind it.
With the pitches in Chepauk on the slower side, LSG will fancy its chances with a good spin attack at its disposal led by Krunal, Ravi Bishnoi and Amit Mishra.
For Mumbai, only leg-spinner Piyush Chawla has been the standout bowler, and skipper Rohit Sharma would need someone like off-spinner Hrithik Shokeen to step up against the opposition’s left-handers.
On tricky batting surfaces, where one or two quick cameos could decide the outcome of the match, it will then boil down to how the teams’ batting firepower clicks.
It is here the Super Giants have a potential area of concern. Though the team’s overseas batters have led the run charts, the domestic batters have yet to do much.
In contrast, the five-time champion’s Indian superstars like Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav have started to fire at the right time. It will also be interesting to see if Tilak Varma - who has missed the last five matches due to injury - is available. The left-hander’s return could further strengthen the batting unit and allow Mumbai Indians to bat its opposition out of the tournament.
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