🏏IPL 2025 - Match 45: MI vs LSG on 27 April 2025 @ 3:30 PM IST🏏

🏏IPL 2025 - Match 45: MI vs LSG at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai on 27 April 2025 @ 3:30 PM IST🏏

Mumbai Indians and Lucknow Super Giants meet at a crossroads

Both teams have five wins each from nine games but they seem to be heading in opposite directions

Same, same but different

It's not important where you are right now; what matters is the direction you are headed in. This aphorism applies to all walks of life, including IPL 2025. Just past the halfway stage, Mumbai Indians (MI) and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) find themselves at the same junction but heading in opposite directions.

Both teams are in the middle of the points table with five wins each from nine games. In those five wins, five different players from each team have won the Player-of-the-Match award. For MI, it has been Ashwani Kumar, Karn Sharma, Will Jacks, Rohit Sharma and Trent Boult. For LSG, Shardul Thakur, Digvesh Rathi, Nicholas Pooran, Aiden Markram and Avesh Khan.

Let's talk about the differences now. MI had a typical slow start to their campaign, losing four of their first five games. But with four successive wins since then, things are looking up for them. Rohit has returned to form with two successive 70s, Boult is living up to the expectations at the death, and Jasprit Bumrah, after missing the first four games, is back to his usual business.

"I've always felt that once everyone starts clicking in this team, it is going to be complete domination," their captain Hardik Pandya said after the win against Sunrisers Hyderabad. With that confidence, and momentum, they enter Sunday afternoon's game.

LSG, on the other hand, have faced two defeats in their last three games. They did win three in a row after a shaky start but things are not looking good for them at the moment. Rishabh Pant and David Miller are yet to fire, making their middle order one of the weakest in the league. After a blistering start to the season, Pooran has had scores of 8, 11 and 9 in his last three innings, which has exposed their middle order further.

What's in LSG's favour is their 6-1 head-to-head record against MI. It includes their win from earlier this season, when MI retired out Tilak Varma in their unsuccessful chase of 204. But this time MI will be playing at home, where they have three wins in four outings so far.

[Tag and Logo credit to Wildestdreams]

In the spotlight: Suryakumar Yadav and Rishabh Pant

Before this IPL started, there were whispers about Suryakumar Yadav's form. In February, against England, he had managed only 28 runs in five T20Is at a strike rate of 116.66. Since then, he has played nine innings in the IPL and has scored at least 25 in each of them. Overall, he is the leading run-getter for MI with 373 at a strike rate of 166.51. The only thing missing is his trademark, jaw-dropping knock.

This being the last IPL before the 2026 T20 World Cup makes it an audition for the global tournament, and Rishabh Pant seems to have flunked it. He has just 106 runs in eight innings at a strike rate of 96.36. Five times he has been dismissed in singles-figures. His coming in at No. 7 against Delhi Capitals after an animated chat with team mentor Zaheer Khan did not paint a good picture either.

The big question

With Pant struggling and Miller not getting enough balls to face at times, should LSG have Miller at No. 4 and Pant down the order?

Key stats: Bumrah vs Pant and Pooran

• Bumrah has a favourable match-up against Pant in the IPL: 46 balls, 55 runs, seven dismissals. He has also dismissed Pooran twice in 18 balls while conceding only 13 runs.
• Mitchell Santner is one of the rare left-arm spinners to have some success against Pooran in T20 cricket. He has dismissed him twice in 20 balls while giving away just 25 runs.
• Hardik has fallen to Avesh three times in 37 balls while scoring only 32 runs in this tournament.
• Rohit scored 76 not out and 70 in his last two innings. This is the first time since 2016 that he has scored back-to-back fifties in the IPL.
• Among those who have bowled at least five overs in the death, Rathi (7.66) has the best economy, followed by Bumrah (7.75). Hardik is at the bottom of the list with 16.20.

Pitch and conditions

The Wankhede Stadium has hosted four games so far this season, all night games. MI won the toss every time and opted to field. They won three of them, when they restricted the opposition to a below-par total. Sunday's match, though, will be played in the hot and humid afternoon and could force a change in strategy.

Pitch and weather conditions are set to play pivotal roles as the mercury soars in Mumbai. Fans can anticipate a spectacle of power-hitting and tactical wizardry as big names like Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Nicholas Pooran, and Mitchell Marsh aim to stamp their authority in front of a buzzing Sunday crowd.

MI vs LSG Weather and Pitch Report The stage is set for batting fireworks at Wankhede, historically a belter with enough assistance for pacers early on. But with Mumbai’s notorious summer in full swing, humidity and evening dew may challenge even the most seasoned campaigners.

Weather Report Expect a scorcher as the mercury sits at a fiery 35°C at the start and hardly dips below 32°C by early evening. The real feels soar above 37°C through most of the game, with winds blowing from the WNW at around 15-20 km/h. Zero cloud cover promises uninterrupted play, but extreme humidity – peaking near 60% by game-end – means sweat and stamina will be tested. Dew is likely to become a major factor from the second innings, making things trickier for bowlers aiming to grip the ball.

Quotes

"It's an afternoon game, we think bowlers will get some help as well. It's all batters' game as you've seen. So hope that bowlers also get something in tomorrow's afternoon game, maybe it will be a little dry or something like that."

LSG legspinner Ravi Bishnoi is hoping for something from the pitch at a small ground

The IPL, they say, is largely about the second half - right or wrong, many teams believe so. There are countless examples of the sides starting with a whimper and finishing on a high - RCB, for instance, in the last season, when they won the last six games in a row to make the playoffs. KKR in 2014 (title) and 2021 (finalists) and CSK in 2010 (champions) are a few other examples. Mumbai Indians, anyway, have a reputation for slow starts, season after season, yet they've gone on to lift the title five times.

Four wins in the last five after only one in the first four, Mumbai Indians are living up to their reputation. But the momentum seems to have, well and truly, returned to their campaign. There may also be a case that the turnaround, started with three game-changing back-to-back run-outs in Delhi, may have coincided with Rohit Sharma's return to form.

After only 38 runs in the first four games, he has amassed 190 in the next four, having particularly looked in ominous touch in the last three matches. His mojo is back and no wonder MI have won all these games. Kieron Pollard didn't miss the chance for an 'I told you so' moment.

"If my memory serves me right, at the start of this competition, that question was different. I said sitting right here, we are going to be singing his praises. We always had that belief that he is going to come good. Sometimes there are dips. For someone who has played this sport for a long time, you have these moments. You just need that extra support from people. Now we are singing his praises. We are all very happy. In the Mumbai dressing room, we were happy at the start as well, knowing that it is going to happen," the batting coach said.

Suryakumar Yadav too is growing in strengths and MI batting looks as strong as it is known to be. The wheels are also turning ominously on the bowling front too, with Trent Boult, Deepak Chahar and Jasprit Bumrah looking in rhythm. Normal services seem to have returned for MI ahead of their home face-off against Lucknow Supergiants.

LSG, level on points with MI, have struggled to build any serious momentum. It's been a stop-start season, further complicated by the poor form of skipper Rishabh Pant. With just 106 runs in nine games, the league's costliest player has looked completely out of sorts - the most telling sight witnessed in the last match when he batted at No. 7. Pant's form is a problem for the Supergiants.

Bowling, though, has been LSG's calling card of the season. Shardul Thakur, Avesh Khan, Prince Yadav, Ravi Bishnoi, and above all, Digvesh Rathi - have all delivered in some way or the other. More so the spinners who are the second most successful group in the IPL after CSK.

It was partly because the pitches have been helpful and the batters have also struggled against quality spin this season. "Why are you not saying the spinners are doing well," countered Ravi Bishnoi. "Bowlers are also bowling well. Rathi is bowling well in his first year. We as a bowler and spin unit are working hard on ourselves. The game has changed. All of a sudden it is a batters game now. So we are trying hard to deceive the batsmen as well."

Bishnoi & Co. will face their toughest test yet when they take on the red-hot duo of Rohit and Suryakumar at the Wankhede on Sunday (April 27) evening.

When: MI vs LSG on April 27, 2025 at 3.30 PM IST

Where: Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai

What to expect: With it being an afternoon game, dew will not be a factor, taking the toss out of the equation. It will largely come down to a battle between MI's batters and LSG's bowlers and chances are that it will be a high-scoring game.

Team Watch:

Mumbai Indians

Injury/Availability concerns: No clarity on Karn Sharma yet although he was seen bowling in the nets over the last two days. All others are available

Tactics & matchups: Rohit will face his friend and Mumbai teammate Shardul Thakur upfront, but the bigger challenge will be how the MI batters, including Suryakumar, cope with Bishnoi and Rathi, who seem to have specific plans in place for the MI batters. One of Deepak Chahar or Trent Boult will be tasked with containing Nicholas Pooran, LSG's batting mainstay. And if that doesn't work, there's always Jasprit Bumrah to fall back upon.

Lucknow SuperGiants

Injury/Availability: Mayank Yadav continues to be on the sidelines. Rest of the squad seems fine.

Tactics & matchups: LSG batting largely revolves around their three overseas batters - Aiden Markram, Mitchell Marsh and Nicholas Pooran; it will be up to them to manage the MI pacers who are in fine form.

Probable XII: Aiden Markram, Mitchell Marsh, Nicholas Pooran, Rishabh Pant (c & wk), Abdul Samad, Ayush Badoni, David Miller, Shardul Thakur, Digvesh Singh Rathi, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, Prince Yadav

What they said:

"Pressure is there in the first and the second half. In the second half, you build a bit of momentum. You tend to say now it's more important. But you have 14 games and each and every game is important. Some teams gel faster than some and they start off pretty quickly. Some teams build momentum, come into the back end. So there's no more important part in the IPL. The most important thing is trying to qualify for the playoffs." - MI batting coach Kieron Pollard on the importance of building momentum

"As you know, he can play shots all around the field. It is tough to bowl to him. There is always a plan. We need to execute that. Then I can come and tell you that was the plan." - Ravi Bishnoi on plans to stop Suryakumar Yadav.