In Match 26 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022, five-time champions Mumbai Indians (MI) will be searching for their first win of the season against an in-form Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai on Saturday afternoon. Having lost all five matches this season, Mumbai may take desperate measures, while Lucknow will look to bounce back after falling three runs short against Rajasthan in the last game.
Mumbai will be relieved to leave Pune, where their plans had failed miserably. They will now play on a the familiar Brabourne surface where they can expect their much-fancied pace attack to do well. This being an afternoon game, dew will not be a factor.
In the last game against Punjab, Mumbai added an extra bowler to the XI. This time, considering the smaller size boundaries at Brabourne, they are likely to continue with that strategy. However, they may replace one of the pacers with all-rounder Fabian Allen. In batting, Dewald Brevis, Tilak Varma, and Suryakumar Yadav scored the bulk of their runs. However, in this crunch game, they would like the out-of-form Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan to fire too.
For Lucknow, the batting position of Marcus Stoinis may get tweaked. At this high-scoring venue, they may want him to face more balls. He may be promoted to No. 3. The rest of the line-up is settled, and does not require change.
In the last few matches, K. Gowtham has taken important wickets up front. For this game, K. L. Rahul will certainly use him against Kishan in the powerplay. All eyes will be on also be on the clash between Ravi Bishnoi and Brevis, two of the most talented young cricketers in the tournament.
Likely XIs
Mumbai Indians: Ishan Kishan (wk), Rohit Sharma (c), Dewald Brevis, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav, Kieron Pollard, Fabian Allen, M. Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Jaydev Unadkat, Tymal Mills
Lucknow Super Giants: K.L. Rahul (c), Quinton de Kock (wk), Marcus Stoinis, Deepak Hooda, Ayush Badoni, Jason Holder, Krunal Pandya, K. Gowtham, Dushmantha Chameera, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan
Fantasy tips
- In this high-scoring venue, pack your team with top-order batters from both teams. Pick from Hooda, Badoni, Brevis, Verma, and Suryakumar.
- The wicket has some grass cover. Expect the new-ball bowlers to take wickets upfront. Back Bumrah, Mills, Avesh, and Chameera.
- Kishan is due for a big score and back him to unleash himself in this crucial game.
Where to watch
Live streaming of Match 26 of IPL 2022 between Mumbai Indians (MI) and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) will start at 3.30 PM IST on April 16. You can watch the match on the Star Sports Network and Hotstar.