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The Lucknow Supergiants (LSG) go up against the Mumbai Indians (MI) in the Eliminator of IPL 2023 on Wednesday, May 24, at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.
The 3rd and 4th-placed sides on the points table, respectively, the winner of this game will play Qualifier 2 against the Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad for a place in the IPL 2023 final against the Chennai Super Kings.
Both these teams have had contrasting runs to the playoffs in terms of how their victories have come about. MI has relied on their batting might more often than not, and their batters have made some challenging run chases look ridiculously easy. Meanwhile, their makeshift bowling lineup has improved from the start of the season.
While Suryakumar Yadav and Piyush Chawla have been the standout performers with the bat and ball, respectively, there have also been sizeable contributions from Cameron Green, Tilak Varma, Tim David, and Akash Madhwal.
LSG, meanwhile, have played half of their matches at a completely different type of home venue compared to the Wankhede Stadium and have their disciplined and consistent bowling attack to thank for their qualification.
Led by an out-of-form KL Rahul, who got injured right when he was looking better, LSG’s top order hasn’t been the same since. It’s a testament to the side’s recruitment that they’ve managed to pull together post that and make the playoffs.
While Nicholas Pooran and Marcus Stoinis have helped them pull off a couple of heists, most of their wins have been due to a complete team effort.
Both sides come into this fixture with winning momentum behind them, and in their very recent meeting, LSG made a terrific comeback to defend a total of 177. MI is yet to beat LSG in the IPL, and this would be an excellent game for them to break that streak. Will they or won’t they is something that will reveal itself on Wednesday night.
Match Details
Date: May 24, 2023
Time: 7:30 PM IST
Venue: MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai.
Weather Forecast
The Chennai heat is unlikely to relent, with temperatures of around 33 degrees Celsius expected on a likely warm and humid night. It’s once again a guessing game on whether or not dew will play a part in the proceedings.
Pitch Report
After seeing how the wicket played out in Qualifier 1, the captain winning the toss may well choose to bat first, irrespective of the possibilities of dew. The pitch should be dry, have plenty of cracks, and aid the spinners well. A score of 165-175 could be par.
Predicted XIs
Lucknow Supergiants
With both Deepak Hooda and Karan Sharma not impressing up top alongside Quinton de Kock and Naveen-ul-Haq not having the desired impact with the ball, LSG could bring Kyle Mayers back at the top of the order and replace Naveen-ul-Haq with an Indian bowler.
Mayers scored a 22-ball 53 the last time he played at Chennai, adding to the appeal of that move. Amit Mishra is likely to take Naveen-ul-Haq’s place due to the spin-friendly nature of the surface.
Lucknow Supergiants: Kyle Mayers/Karan Sharma, Quinton de Kock(WK), Prerak Mankad, Marcus Stoinis, Krunal Pandya (C), Nicholas Pooran, Ayush Badoni, Krishnappa Gowtham, Ravi Bishnoi, Amit Mishra/Naveen-ul-Haq, and Mohsin Khan. (Impact Player: Yash Thakur)
Mumbai Indians
There shouldn’t be much change to the Mumbai Indians’ playing XI after their convincing win over SRH. Hrithik Shokeen could take Kumar Karthikeya’s place to counter the many left-hand batters LSG possesses.
Mumbai Indians: Ishan Kishan (WK), Rohit Sharma (C), Cameron Green, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Tim David, Nehal Wadhera, Chris Jordan, Piyush Chawla, Hrithik Shokeen/Kumar Karthikeya, and Akash Madhwal. (Impact Sub: Jason Behrendorff)
Match Prediction
While many might favor MI due to their powerful batting lineup and playoffs record, LSG is much better suited to this game and the venue than Rohit Sharma’s side. They have three top spinners compared to MI’s one, and their home conditions mimic the surface at Chepauk much better than the Wankhede.
While the MI bowlers have stepped up, they are still a batting-heavy side, and this won’t be a venue easy to bat on. LSG should be favorites to make it to Ahmedabad over MI.
Prediction: Lucknow Supergiants to win The Eliminator of IPL 2023
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