Our playoff chances in the IPL 2024 hang by a thread as we find ourselves in hopes of a miracle, and several results going our way, to sneak into the top four.

The first order of business, however, will be to beat Mumbai Indians by a wholesome margin when we face them at the Wankhede Stadium on Friday. The match against MI, our final outing of the IPL 2024 league stage, starts at 7:30 PM IST.

With 12 points from 13 games, we are currently seventh on the points table and only a massive victory against MI can give us an outside chance of qualifying for the playoffs.

Consequently, we go into Friday’s clash perfectly aware that it just may be our last match of this campaign and the boys will look to sign off on a winning note.

After disappointing outings in the last three matches, our top order will be eager to fire against Mumbai and we are looking at skipper KL Rahul, Quinton de Kock and Marcus Stoinis to give us a good start at the Wankhede.

KL boasts a brilliant record against MI, having scored 895 runs at an average of 81.4. Only Shikhar Dhawan, with 901, has scored more against the five-time champions and no other batter in the IPL enjoys a better average against MI than our skipper.

Stoinis, too, has proved extremely effective against MI. He was the Player of the Match in two of our four wins against the Mumbai team.

With Nicholas Pooran in fantastic form with a bat lower down the order, a good start by our top three can go a long way in giving us the edge in the match.

On the bowling front, we’ll be looking to Naveen-ul-Haq and Ravi Bishnoi to spearhead our attack. Krunal Pandya will also look to impress against his former team, which is now captained by his brother.

News from MI camp

Mumbai were the first team to crash out of the top-four race but Hardik Pandya’s side has plenty of match-winners in the squad.

In Suryakumar Yadav, MI boast of the top T20I batter on the ICC Player Rankings currently. Jasprit Bumrah, meanwhile, is one of the most effective white ball bowlers on the planet.

Rohit Sharma is always a danger man when on form while Tilak Varma is enjoying a breakthrough season and is the team’s top scorer in IPL 2024.

MI vs LSG history

We have played MI five times in the IPL and emerged victorious four times. Our only loss against them was in the Eliminator last season at the MA Chidambaram Stadium.

In 2022, we did a double against Mumbai riding on Player of the Match performances by KL Rahul. Stoinis, meanwhile, took centrestage when we trumped them by five runs at the Ekana last season and picked up a four-wicket victory in our home leg this campaign.

Stats that matter

  • Nicholas Pooran is 72 Runs away from 7000 T20 career runs.
  • Marcus Stoinis is 76 Runs Away from 1000 Runs for LSG.
  • Krunal Pandya is 8 Runs away from 500 Runs for LSG.

How to watch MI vs LSG live

Venue: Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai

Match start time: May 17, 7:30 PM IST

Streaming: Jio Cinema

TV channel: Star Sports Network