Indian T20 League 2023

Eliminator: LUC vs MUM

Preview 

The league matches have been done and dusted in the IND T20 League 2023. Now, it is time for the playoffs when Lucknow will face off against Mumbai in an eliminator match on Wednesday, May 24 from MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai at 07:30 PM. The winner of this match will get another opportunity to meet the loser of Qualifier 1 between Gujarat and Chennai. Krunal Pandya-led LUC finished third in the points table with 8 wins out of 14 matches, having 17 points in the league standings. On the other side, Rohit Sharma-led MUM ended fourth in the points table with 8 wins out of 14 matches, racking up 16 points in the league standings. 

Both franchises will be heading into this tug-of-war after winning their respective last league matches. Lucknow defeated Kolkata in the last game whereas, Mumbai thrashed Hyderabad in the last league match. The 5-time league champion MUM has qualified for the playoffs in the ongoing edition of the league and MUM made a superb comeback after the dismal performance in 2022. At the same time, Lucknow qualified for the consecutive season in IND T20 League.

LUC has a balanced team and performed well in the tournament in all three departments. Uttar Pradesh-based franchise LUC batting lineup consists of multiple batters who can smash the ball all around the field. The left-handed Windies batter Nicholas Pooran is in tremendous hitting form with a magnificent strike rate of 174 in the league. While Krunal Pandya-led LUC's bowling is also in very good form and won the last match by just 1 run against KOL in a nail-biter. We will see some cracking stroke-making in this game from Lucknow batters.

The first half of the season did not go in favour of MUM, but they made a splendid comeback in the second half of the tournament, winning 5 matches out of 7 matches. Rohit Sharma-led MUM batted superbly in the last league match and won the game by chasing a mammoth target of 200 runs. Cameron Green pummeled 100* off 47, registering his first IND T20 league hundred leading his side to an emphatic eight-wicket victory against HYD. The 23-year-old right-handed batter smashed 8 fours and 8 maximums in his hammering knock. He was well-supported by skipper Rohit Sharma who also scored 56 off 37 balls, recording his second fifty of the season.

MUM's batting order is in the superb form where Both SKY and Green scored a century in IND T20 League. The side has the likes of Ishan Kishan, Tim David, Rohit Sharma, Nehal, Tilak Varma and other top-class batters on the list. Mumbai will have good confidence to play in this decider game. MUM's bowling isn’t very good but Rohit Sharma's army will try to contain the opponents with the limited resource they have.

MA Chidambaram(Chepauk) wicket is traditionally helpful for the spinners and two back-to-back qualifier games will take place on this venue for the IND T20 League 2023. On this track, though teams won four times in chasing this season, usually teams batting first have won more matches at Chepauk. LUC and MUM have veteran leggies in their squad, Amit Mishra for Lucknow & Piyush Chawla for Mumbai which makes the game more interesting. Both sides have enough firepower to post a good total on the board.

In terms of a head-to-head battle between the two franchises, Mumbai has never managed to defeat Lucknow in the IND T20 league tournament. LUC currently holds a 3-0 lead record against MUM. As both sides prepare to face each other once again at the Chepauk, LUC has a strong chance to extend their dominance and potentially make it a 4-0 record against Mumbai.

Match Details

Match: LUC vs MUM, Eliminator, Indian T20 League 2023

Date: Wednesday, May 24, 2023

Time: 7:30 PM

Venue: MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai

Pitch and Weather Report

Chepauk is known for having a slow surface, and batters must work hard on this track to get their runs. Spinners enjoy bowling on this surface as the ball grips the surface and takes a sharp turn. Seamers who mix their lines and lengths have done well on this wicket.

This venue has slowed down in the last few games played here. The ball isn't coming onto the bat that easily, making scoring difficult. Bowlers would enjoy bowling here in the first half of the game. Hence, the side winning the toss here would most likely opt to bowl first in the game. A score over 180+ would be a good one to defend on this track.

The maximum temperature will remain at 37°C, with a low of 29°C with 66% humidity and a wind speed of 23 Km/hr for the Eliminator, the IND T20 League on May 24 b/w LUC vs MUM. The weather in MA Chidambaram Stadium(Chepauk), Chennai is expected to be warm and sunny on the match day.

LUC vs MUM Squads

LUC: Quinton de Kock (wk), Kyle Mayers, Krunal Pandya (c), Prerak Mankad, Marcus Stoinis, Nicholas Pooran, Amit Mishra, Yash Thakur, Ravi Bishnoi, Yudhvir Singh Charak, Avesh Khan, Swapnil Singh, Daniel Sams, Ayush Badoni, Deepak Hooda, Arpit Guleria, Mohsin Khan, Mark Wood, Romario Shepherd, Karun Nair, Naveen-ul-Haq, Manan Vohra, Krishnappa Gowtham, Karan Sharma

MUM: Ishan Kishan (wk), Rohit Sharma (c), Cameron Green, Suryakumar Yadav, Nehal Wadhera, Tim David, Chris Jordan, Vishnu Vinod, Piyush Chawla, Jason Behrendorff, Kumar Kartikeya, Ramandeep Singh, Akash Madhwal, Dewald Brevis, Sandeep Warrier, Hrithik Shokeen, Tristan Stubbs, Raghav Goyal, Jofra Archer, Riley Meredith, Shams Mulani, Arjun Tendulkar, Tilak Varma, Duan Jansen, Arshad Khan

LUC vs MUM Probable Playing XIs

Match Prediction

Lucknow has an unscathed record against Mumbai in three matches so far in the IND T20 league and LUC will be more confident of coming out victorious in this do-or-die encounter. Krunal Pandya-led LUC also looks more settled with an all-around unit. On the other side, The 5-time league champions Mumbai is doing what they are known for, the side has successfully chased down 200 runs most times in the 16th edition of the league. Rohit Sharma-led MUM will be on cloud nine after beating HYD in a must-win contest. It is going to be a cracker of a game between the two top sides, we say MUM to win this match.

Top Fantasy Picks

Marcus Stoinis: The Aussie all-rounder is in red-hot form in the 16th edition of the league. He also scored 89 off 47 balls against MUM registering his highest individual league score. The Australian Hulk has scored 389 runs in 14 league matches in the ongoing league competition. However, he scored a duck in the last match against KOL.

Ravi Bishnoi: The leg-spinner has been the prime bowler for the team with 16 wickets for his side LUC. He scalped two wickets in the last game against KOL while giving 23 runs in his full quota. Bishnoi can play a big role against Mumbai's batters in this match.

Suryakumar Yadav: SKY has turned Mumbai’s season around with his staggering batting. From struggling to find a win, MUM now looks like a title contender, and SKY has been the prime reason for his batting taking Rohit Sharma-led to a new level. He has scored 511 runs in 14 matches making him sit in the seventh place for the orange cap race. 

Piyush Chawla: The veteran leg spinner story this has been for Piyush Chawla. With 20 scalps in 14 matches, the veteran is MUM’s leading wicket-taker and fourth overall this season. The 34-year-old went expensive in the last match against HYD, leaking 0/39 in his full quota.

Risky Captaincy Choice

Mumbai's skipper Rohit Sharma will be our pick for this segment. 6-time IND T20 league winner Rohit Sharma is finding his form back in the ongoing edition of the tournament. The 36-year-old has scored 313 runs in the 14 league matches at an average of 22.36 with a strike rate of 134.33. He played a captain's knock in the last game against HYD while chasing the target of 200 runs. The opening batter scored 56 off 37 balls including 8 fours and 1 six in his innings. He may play a crucial against LUC with his captaincy and batting.

Suggested Playing XI Real11 Fantasy Cricket

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