Lucknow Super Giants will roll out the red carpet for five-time champions Mumbai Indians for their penultimate league stage of the Indian Premier League 2023 season. 

The LSG vs MI face-off is scheduled to start at the BRSABV Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow on Tuesday, May 16, at 7:30 PM IST.

With just a single point separating the two teams after 12 matches, MI are third on the IPL 2023 table while LSG are fourth. With just a single league stage match left to play for both teams following Tuesday’s clash, the result of the match will be a crucial one in the playoff race.

While it’s not technically a ‘must-win’ for either team, a loss would make holding onto a top-four spot considerably difficult for both sides, with RCB and PBKS still in the running.

Super Giants to watch out for

With KL Rahul out injured, the onus will be on the experienced Quinton de Kock to lead the LSG batting line-up. The Protea joined the team late because of his international duties but his arrival has helped LSG fill a KL-sized hole at the top of the order. The South African has accumulated 99 runs in the two matches he has played and will be looking for a big knock against MI this Tuesday.

Ekana provides a lot of help for the spinners and Amit Mishra could be LSG’s ace against MI. Mishra boasts a brilliant record against MI, having picked up 25 wickets in 22 matches against the five-time champions. Of these 17 have come in the last eight. Ravichandran Ashwin (26) is the only spinner with more wickets than Mishra against MI in the IPL.

Mumbai’s big hitters

With the form he’s in, it’s impossible to ignore Suryakumar Yadav. SKY has scored five 50+ scores in his last seven IPL innings. In MI’s last match, SKY scored his maiden IPL ton to sink reigning champions Gujarat Titans.

LSG vs MI head-to-head

LSG have won both their previous head-to-head IPL meetings but it was KL Rahul who engineered both wins for the Lucknow side last season with identical unbeaten centuries (103). However, with the LSG captain missing from action with an injury, the hosts will be on the lookout for a new hero this Tuesday.