Focus on Rohit, Pant as MI take on LSG

Lucknow: Five-time champions Mumbai Indians (MI) take on Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 in Match 16 on Friday, with all eyes on ex-MI skipper Rohit Sharma and LSG captain Rishabh Pant, as both India stars have failed to impress with the bat so far.

The Hardik Pandya-led Mumbai Indians, however, are struggling for form, as they managed to get just one win in three outings and are sitting fifth in the points table. After two losses in a row, MI finally registered their first win when they secured an eight-wicket victory over defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders on Monday.

The biggest concern for the Mumbai-based outfit is ex-skipper Rohit Sharma’s form. The opener is yet to show his magic in the tournament, as he registered a series of low scores (0, 8, and 13), which is his worst IPL start since 2020.

Besides Rohit’s form, uncertainty over the availability of their premier pacer Jasprit Bumrah is another major concern for MI. Reports are suggesting that Bumrah, who is currently undergoing rehab at the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence (formerly the National Cricket Academy) in Bengaluru for a lower back injury, is not returning to action anytime soon.

However, Ryan Rickelton came out as one of the positives for MI in their last match against KKR after recording scores of 13 and 6 in the first two games. The South African keeper-batter impressed in their recent win against KKR, smashing an unbeaten 62 off 41.

On the other hand, young left-arm pacer Ashwani Kumar also shone with his bowling skills. The 23-year-old left-arm pacer, who made his IPL debut for MI against KKR after playing only four T20 matches on the domestic circuit, struck with his first ball in the tournament, dismissing KKR captain Ajinkya Rahane, before picking up the wickets of Manish Pandey, Rinku Singh and Andre Russell to become the first Indian to take a four-wicket haul (4-24) on IPL debut.

LSG, meanwhile, sitting sixth in the standings, are coming into the match after suffering an eight-wicket loss at the hands of Punjab Kings. They are also in the same boat as MI with one win in three matches.

Skipper Rishabh Pant’s dismal run with the bat made the franchise heavily reliant on Nicholas Pooran.

MI and LSG have faced each other six times in IPL, with the latter having an upper hand in the head-to-head record with five wins.

Squads:

Lucknow Super Giants: Nicholas Pooran, Ravi Bishnoi, Mayank Yadav, Ayush Badoni, Rishabh Pant, David Miller, Aiden Markram, Mitchell Marsh, Avesh Khan, Abdul Samad, Aryan Juyal, Akash Deep, Himmat Singh, Manimaran Siddharth, Digvesh Singh, Shahbaz Ahmed, Akash Singh, Shamar Joseph, Prince Yadav, Yuvraj Chaudhary, RS Hangargekar, Arshin Kulkarni, Matthew Breetzke, Mohsin Khan.

Mumbai Indians: Suryakumar Yadav, Rohit Sharma, Tilak Varma, Bevon Jacobs, Ryan Rickelton, Robin Minz, Krishnan Shrijith, Hardik Pandya, Naman Dhir, Raj Bawa, Vignesh Puthur, Will Jacks, Mitchell Santner, Jasprit Bumrah, Arjun Tendulkar, Ashwani Kumar, Reece Topley, Lizaad Williams, Karn Sharma, Trent Boult, Deepak Chahar, Satyanarayana Raju, Mujeeb Ur Rahman.