🏏IPL 2024: Match 67 - MI vs LSG at Mumbai Wankhede Stadium 🏏

🏏IPL 2024: Match 67 - MI vs LSG at Mumbai, Wankhede Stadium🏏

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The Mumbai Indians (MI) are scheduled to play against the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), in Match 67 of IPL 2024 at the Wankhede Stadium at 7:30 pm. This match will be the fourteenth and final one of the season for both teams.

The hosts, who were confirmed to be eliminated just more than a week back courtesy of a belligerent 10-wicket mauling of the visitors, Lucknow Super Giants, will be playing for pride, and would want to end their season on a high after sitting in the bottom-most position on the points table. 

Meanwhile, LSG, who lost the plot just when they were sailing towards the playoffs, with three back-to-back losses, has an outside chance mathematically speaking, but it seems almost improbable in reality.

Both teams have lost four in their last five and would want to end their respective seasons on a sweet note.

In the high-stakes life of the IPL, there are no such things as a dead rubber. 

Each match carries a context, even when the competing teams may seem out of contention for the coveted last four stages. Take, for instance, the regulations set forth by the BCCI which designates a Final League Standing Payment each season for the franchises, which is distributed based on the number of League Points accrued by the teams.

When LSG owner Sanjeev Goenka was seen animatedly conversing with skipper KL Rahul after the game in Hyderabad, it was believed to be about how they could win the championship. Now that scenario is out of the equation. 

The Lucknow side is in seventh position and is set to end up in the mid-table. A last-four berth is virtually ruled out for them. Goenka and Rahul can now plan only for the next season. That is, of course, only if Goenka retains the captain and Rahul agrees to stay with the team.

[Tag Credit: Sutapasima]

Head to Head: MI 1 - 4 LSG. Mumbai Indians only win against Lucknow was in the Eliminator at the Chepauk last year. 

Probable Playing XIs

Mumbai Indians

Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya (c), Nehal Wadhera, Tim David, Piyush Chawla, Jasprit Bumrah, Anshul Kamboj, Nuwan Thushara

Impact Player: Naman Dhir

Lucknow Super Giants 

KL Rahul (c & wk), Quinton de Kock, Deepak Hooda, Marcus Stoinis, Krunal Pandya, Nicholas Pooran, Ayush Badoni, Arshad Khan, Ravi Bishnoi, Naveen-ul-Haq, Yash Thakur

Team Watch

Mumbai Indians

Injury and availability: All players are injury free

Tactics and Match-Up: It is possible that Jasprit Bumrah will be rested for the clash. Viewed in isolation of the game, that will be a tactical misstep not only because of Bumrah's reputation as a great of the format. He has favourable matchups against Marcus Stoinis (28 runs in 36 balls, 3 dismissals) and Nicholas Pooran (13 runs in 18 balls, 2 dismissals).

Bumrah has also dismissed Rahul twice and the batter has a strike rate of 124.8 against the MI pacer. However, Piyush Chawla is also a good option against the LSG captain, having dismissed him twice in 20 deliveries for just 33 runs.

Lucknow Super Giants

Injury and Availability: Barring Mayank Yadav, all players are injury free

Tactics and Match-Up: Ishan Kishan has been dismissed four times in 30 deliveries by Ravi Bishnoi, making the legspinner a good option for LSG to use early. Bishnoi also has a favourable matchup against Suryakumar Yadav, having accounted for him three times in 32 balls.

Probable Best Players of the Match

Probable Best Batter: Rohit Sharma

With the T20 World Cup 2024 fast approaching and there being only one warm-up game which Team India will play ahead of the marquee event, the match against LSG will be one of the last full-fledged match situations which'll be encountered by the ex-MI skipper and the captain of the Indian Cricket Team. It seems more than likely for Rohit to go big and make it count.

Probable Best Bowler: Jasprit Bumrah

With 20 wickets in 13 matches, the Indian pace-bowling spearhead has once again had a remarkable tournament, not only in terms of wicket-taking but stifling the flow of runs as well. Bumrah has gone at a scanty 6.48 runs/over the entire tournament and would be geared to add a few more to his tally to enhance his confidence ahead of the showpiece event in June. 

Today’s Match Prediction: Mumbai Indians to win the match

Scenario 1 

Mumbai Indians win the toss and opt to bowl first.

Powerplay: 45-55

Lucknow Super Giants: 155-165

Mumbai Indians win the match.

Scenario 2

Mumbai Indians win the toss and opt to bat first.

Powerplay: 60-70

Mumbai Indians: 200-210

Mumbai Indians win the match.

Disclaimer: The prediction is based on the understanding, analysis, and instinct of the author. While making your prediction, consider the points mentioned and make your own decision.

Did you know?

- LSG don't have any bowlers in the top 20 of the wicket-takers. Only two of their bowlers have gone past the 10-wicket mark (Naveen 12 & Yash Thakur 11).

- KL Rahul has scored 895 runs in 17 innings against Mumbai Indians, with five fifties and three hundreds, and averages 81.36 against them. Rahul also has a good record at Wankhede, with 579 runs in 11 innings, including two hundreds and four fifties.

- Since IPL 2023, Suryakumar Yadav has scored 577 runs in 12 innings at an average of 64.11 at Wankhede, with two hundreds and five fifties.

What they said:

"Sometimes we batted well or sometimes we bowled well. The coaches have also spoken with us that it was not our season, yet we worked hard. Yes, Jasprit bhai did not get enough support to his bowling in some matches, but we will learn from it," - Naman Dhir about what went wrong for the side in the season

We have to play for our pride... We want to end the season on a high," said Naman Dhir on the eve of the game. MI have had a horror season, nothing going well for them except Jasprit Bumrah's bowling and occasional bursts of brilliance from the bat of Suryakumar Yadav. Ahead of the World Cup, there'll also be something to look for, particularly the form of Rohit Sharma and above all skipper Hardik Pandya, who are all in the Indian squad. It could also be of interest to see the reception for the captain if and when when the Mumbai Indians players take a lap of honour.

Lance Klusener went a little further than what Naman Dhir said about the game. "Yeah, I think next year there is a mega auction. There's people that want to impress. I think we're playing for our supporters. We've got a lot to play for tomorrow," the LSG's assistant coach said.

As per the franchise agreement, in possession of Cricbuzz, The League Points are awarded according to the teams' final standings in the points table before the Playoffs. The last-placed team receives one point, and subsequent teams earn one additional point for each position traversing up the table. This system is to make sure fair distribution of funds among franchises based on their performance.

Besides the fee share differential, teams are also driven by the desire to evade the ignominy of finishing at the bottom of the table. A victory on Friday will lift Mumbai Indians from the 10th position. Whether they remain in the new spot will be a function of teams around them perform.

Pitch report-- 

What to expect:The Wankhede Stadium has seen a substantial dip in first-innings scores in night games this season, down to 174 from a high of 200 just 12 months ago. That said, teams will still want to chase.

MI Vs LSG: Wankhede Stadium Pitch Report 

The Wankhede Stadium has square boundaries that are a mere 64 to 68 metres and the straighter boundaries are about 68-72 metres, in simpler terms making it easy for batters to smash boundaries and maximums. 

This also implies that the pitch is heavily dominated by batters, with the ball typically coming onto the bat quite nicely.

The Wankhede surface is flat and dry, and hence there's no harm in saying it's a batting paradise. It also assists pacers at the start, and it is expected that captains will bring in the spinners in the later half of the game  because of its dry nature and also because it  would grip well for them.

Due to the dew factor and considering the track record it is expected that the team that wins the toss will opt to field first.

Thanks for tagging me.  Although I support LSG here, I've bet on MI just to jinx them cover myself.  My picks tonight:

Toss: MI

Win: MI

Most runs: SKY

Most 4s/6s: Tilak Verma

Most wickets: Kamboj

POTM: Stoinus