MI, at third position on the IPL 2023 points table with 14 points from 12 matches, qualification is almost done, but not quite, so two points against LSG will be most welcome indeed.
Lucknow: The week turned out to be quite strange for most of the top sides, and with the new week beginning, not one has yet stepped across that line to get a big ‘Q’ against their name on the points table. But on the flip side, the picture is clear as it is bleak, with the bottom feeders’ struggles about to come to an inglorious end. Amidst all of this, the teams that are on the borderline between qualification and disaster have a lot to gain and all to lose as the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 league reaches its last week. For Mumbai Indians (MI) and even more so Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), there is little space left to manoeuvre and little time left to recover, if disaster does strike.
MI, at third position on the IPL 2023 points table with 14 points from 12 matches, qualification is almost done, but not quite, so two points against LSG will be most welcome indeed.
As for the latter, they are facing dual challenges. For one, they are taking on the fearsome MI batting line-up, albeit at home. On the other side, they can sense Royal Challengers Bangalore breathing down their necks. Not a happy position at all.
With the weekend ensuring that no one could really seal qualification, with Chennai Super Kings (CSK) going down to Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in their last home league game, there are four teams on 12 points apiece, divided only by run-rate and at least two of those would be hoping for a miracle.
So, not rest for the favourites, or the pretenders.
LSG have not had it their way off late, but would be extremely happy with their win over SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) in their last game. That, and the one point they escaped with during their no-result with CSK, has kept them in the top four, ahead of RCB. But the latter looked formidable when they decimated Rajasthan Royals (RR) in an away match.
That leave LSG looking over their shoulders when they host MI. Hardly the best situation for a side which has been tottering since they lost KL Rahul as skipper.
MI don’t seem to have too many worries in terms of form. They have so many batters in fine nick that any total seems to withing their grasp, be it setting a target or chasing one.
They really were is commanding form against defending champions and table-toppers Gujarat Titans (GT), winning two crucial points and ensuring that GT too wait a bit longer for their qualification.
Suryakumar Yadav seems to be in some other zone and his 103 not out off just 49 deliveries against GT more or less decided the game even before the latter batted.
Yadav isn’t the only one. MI seem to find batters for all occasions. Is not Ishan Kishan or Yadav, there will be Nehal Wadhera, Tilak Varma, Cameron Green, or Tim David. Even Vishnu Vinod came up with some shots against GT.
Skipper Rohit Sharma’s lean form is not even considered a problem presently by MI.
LSG will struggle to stop this assault, and their stand-in captain Krunal Pandya would be hoping that Quinton de Kock, Marcus Stoinis, Nicholas Pooran, and Prerak Mankad join the party, as they did against SRH.
Also, their bowlers, led by the veteran Amit Mishra and Ravi Bishnoi, need to find form.
Quite a daunting job for LSG, more so because they will have little time left to recover, with just KKR to face. As for MI, it looks like qualification is just half a step away, with only SRH to face after LSG, but four points lost is not a scenario they would like to contemplate either.
