At the business end of an IPL tournament, most of the games would have some relevance attached to them. However, that won’t be the case when the Hardik Pandya-led Mumbai Indians (MI) take on Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) on May 17.
It is true that LSG are on 12 points and victory would take them to 14. Unfortunately, their net run-rate of -0.787 is nowhere near as good as that maintained by their competitors – Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Chennai Super Kings. In fact, it is even worse than that of Delhi Capitals.
In such circumstances, the focus shifts to Rohit Sharma. Ever since he was bought on January 8, 2011, in the auction preceding the fourth season, he has been the cornerstone of the franchise. He led the side to five IPL championships, the last of which came in 2020. But all good things have to come to an end. Before IPL 2024, Pandya was made the skipper. Meanwhile, Rohit has had a below-par season, averaging a tad less than 30. For an opener, his numbers aren’t great.
So, could this be Rohit’s last game in MI’s colours? It might very well turn out that way. Even if that is not the case, MI would be aiming to finish their campaign on a better note with a win over LSG at their home ground, the Wankhede Stadium.
“We have to play for our pride… We want to end the season on a high,” noted Naman Dhir in the pre-match press conference. For that to happen, MI would bank on Rohit returning to form. Suryakumar Yadav, the lynchpin of the batting unit, Tilak Varma, Ishan Kishan, Tim David and Hardik too have to make an impact.
Among the bowlers, Jasprit Bumrah has led the attack admirably. He hasn’t just taken wickets at regular intervals but has also maintained an excellent economy rate of 6.48. Gerald Coetzee is the second highest wicket-taker for MI, with 13 scalps, but he has been expensive. The only other positive sign for MI is that Hardik seems to have regained his bowling rhythm and currently has 11 wickets.
What about LSG? With the Lucknow franchise, the speculation is more about whether they will let go of KL Rahul. The LSG skipper’s strike-rate has been heavily scrutinised. “I think next year there is a mega auction,” said Lance Klusener, part of the coaching team. “There’s people that want to impress. I think we’re playing for our supporters. We’ve got a lot to play for tomorrow.”
So, will the MI faithful be watching Rohit for one final time in the franchise’s colours? Will Sanjeev Goenka retain Rahul as the captain? In other words, there are many sub-plots attached to this intriguing match-up.
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— RevSportz (@RevSportz) May 15, 2024