FANTASY
Follow UsTwo sides at different ends of the points table, Mumbai Indians and Lucknow Super Giants will lock horns at the Brabourne Stadium on Saturday. Mumbai are the only side in IPL 2022 yet to register a win, and have lost each of their five matches. Defeat on Saturday will pretty much shut the door on playoff qualification. Lucknow, meanwhile, are one of six teams on six points, and will break into the Top 2 with a win. Both sides, incidentally, will be walking into Saturday’s encounter on the back of a loss.
Ground Details
The encounter between Mumbai and Lucknow on Saturday will be the seventh game played at the Brabourne. Friday’s clash between SRH and KKR, too, incidentally happened at the Brabourne, and it was convincingly won by the team that chased.
The Brabourne has been a batter’s dream, and it has thus far had the highest batting scores. The average first-batting score of 191 at the Brabourne is the highest amongst all venues in IPL 2022. The venue has also seen the highest chase of the season (211 by LSG vs CSK).
However, it has not fully favored chasing sides. Of the six games that have been played so far, two of them have been won by the side batting first. There have also been plenty of close chases.
On the bowling front, it is a venue that has favored pacers when it comes to wicket-taking. 65% of the wickets at the venue have been taken by the quicker bowlers. In Friday’s SRH vs KKR clash, the pacers enjoyed a lot of success. But the spinners have been comparatively more economical, boasting an ER of 8.6 compared to the 9.5 of the quicker bowlers.
On Saturday, we can expect a wicket that offers something to everyone.
Team Selection
Captain selection
Suryakumar Yadav missed the first two matches of the season, but he’s arguably been the best batter in the league since coming back. He’s accumulated scores of 52, 68* and 43, and against Punjab almost single-handedly won the encounter for Mumbai. At this point, not even a justification is needed. It’s a no-brainer to not just have SKY in the team, but make him the captain.
Criclytics predicts Suryakumar to score between 45-67 runs against Lucknow.
X-factors
He might be playing in his first ever IPL season, but young Tilak Varma has been one of the best batters not just in Mumbai, but in the entire league. He’s accumulated 157 runs at an average of 39.25 and SR of 160, and he’s passed 30 in 3 of his last 4 innings. Expect Varma to keep the good work going against Lucknow.
Criclytics predicts Tilak Varma to score 22-34 runs against Lucknow
Deepak Hooda has arguably been the most improved batter in recent times, and he’s been on absolute fire all throughout the season. With 155 runs he’s the second-highest run-getter for Lucknow, and he’s played knocks of impact in nearly every single encounter. With Mumbai being heavily reliant on Bumrah, there might arise an opportunity for Hooda to go after the other bowlers in the middle overs. He’s one to keep an eye on.
Criclytics predicts Hooda to score between 16-24 runs against Mumbai
Quinton de Kock is in the running for the orange cap, and the southpaw has exhibited great consistency all through the season. He’s accumulated 188 runs, and has passed 35 in 3 of the last 4 games. He’ll certainly be keen to send a message to his former team, come Saturday.
Criclytics predicts de Kock to score between 32-48 runs against Mumbai.
Here are the top-10 picks as per Criclytics projected points
Probable XIs
LSG: KL Rahul (c), Quinton de Kock (wk), Marcus Stoinis, Deepak Hooda, Ayush Badoni, Krunal Pandya, Jason Holder, Krishnappa Gowtham, Dushmantha Chameera, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan
MI: Rohit Sharma (c), Ishan Kishan (wk), Dewald Brevis, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Kieron Pollard, Jaydev Unadkat, Murugan Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Tymal Mills, Riley Meredith