Mumbai Indians and Lucknow Super Giants are separated only by net run rate on the points table in . Both teams have won five of their nine matches, and in MI's case, they have won four matches in a row.
It is probably a testament to the fierceness of the competition in the tournament that despite MI being fourth and LSG being sixth, the winner of this contest has a mathematical opportunity to go to the top of the points table.
MI beat SRH in Hyderabad in their latest match. Trent Boult and Deepak Chahar took two wickets each in the powerplay and SRH looked down and out at that point. Heinrich Klaasen and Abhinav Manohar put up a record partnership to keep SRH afloat, but Boult took more wickets in the death as well. Rohit Sharma got his second consecutive score of over 70 and Suryakumar Yadav finished things off in the easy chase to give MI their fourth consecutive win.
LSG slumped to a loss to DC in Lucknow in their last game. A strong opening partnership between Mitchell Marsh and Aiden Markram was broken by Mukesh Kumar who went on to wreck the rest of the middle order as well. Ayush Badoni kept the middle order afloat, but LSG finished with an underwhelming total. Fifties from Abishek Porel and KL Rahul got support from a cameo by Axar Patel as DC chased the total down.
This match is also a reverse fixture and LSG had emerged victorious in the previous clash, in Lucknow. Marsh and Markram once again got a strong opening partnership, but the middle order fell to Hardik Pandya's fifer. Pandya did much of the damage control at the death. After openers left early, Suryakumar Yadav and Naman Dhir kept the chase alive but perished in the process. Tilak Varma's struggle became a major issue even though all LSG bowlers other than Digvesh Rathi came under the pump. Pandya turned up with the bat too, but MI fell short anyway.
IPL Stats and Records at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
Matches Played | 122 |
Matches Won Batting First | 54 |
Matches Won Batting Second | 67 |
Matches With No Result | 00 |
Matches Tied | 01 |
Average First Innings Score | 172 |
Highest Team Total | 235 |
Highest Total Successfully Chased | 213 |
Pant has been in extremely disappointing form in this tournament, and he will face up to a bowler who has troubled him the most in IPL history. Pant has made just 55 runs in 46 balls at a strike rate of 119.56 while being dismissed a staggering seven times for an average of 7.85.
2. Suryakumar Yadav vs Shardul Thakur
This player battle has been more even, but still mostly in the bowler's favour. Yadav has made 32 runs in 23 balls while being dismissed twice against Thakur at an average of 16 and strike rate of 139.13.
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