The Lucknow team will take on the Mumbai team in the Eliminator round of the Indian Playerzpot League 2023 at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Wednesday, 24th May. Both teams had a good outing in the league stage of the tournament. Lucknow registered eight wins and six losses and finished in the third spot with 17 points from 14 games. While Mumbai won eight games, lost six matches, and finished in the fourth position with 16 points from 14 games. Lucknow managed to qualify for the playoffs after defeating Kolkata by 1 run and Mumbai, on the other hand, beat Hyderabad by 8 wickets.
Lucknow and Mumbai will face off against each other for the second time in the ongoing edition of the Indian Playerzpot League. In their last encounter, Lucknow defeated Mumbai by five wickets. Lucknow are into playoffs for the second consecutive time, while Mumbai will play their first knockout match since 2020. The upcoming Eliminator match is expected to be exciting as Lucknow and Mumbai will look to go further by booking their spot in Qualifier 1.
Players to watch out for
#1 N Pooran (Lucknow): N Pooran has been one of the reliable players for Lucknow whenever the team was in a crunch situation. He is often considered a clutch player. In the previous match against Lucknow, Pooran scored 58 off 30 balls at a strike rate of 193.33. He stepped up when Lucknow were 73/5 and his knock helped the team post a good total of 176/8. This season, N Pooran has scored 358 runs, including two fifties, at an average of 32.55 and a strike rate of 173.79 in 14 matches. Though he is not among the leading run-getters of the season, Pooran’s performances always have had an impact on the team, be it batting first or chasing. Pooran mostly plays in the middle order and can turn the game around on its head by unleashing his firepower. Pooran will look to put up another impactful performance in the Eliminator against Mumbai.
#2 R Sharma (Mumbai): R Sharma might not have had a great outing but as a skipper, he managed to get Mumbai through the playoffs despite having an average bowling attack. In the previous match against Hyderabad, Sharma scored 56 off 37 balls at a strike rate of 151.35. This season, R Sharma has scored 313 runs, including two fifties, at an average of 22.36 and a strike rate of 134.33 in 14 matches. The 35-year-old had anchored the team’s innings on a few occasions and scored quick runs in the powerplay. R Sharma’s form before the playoffs is a positive for Mumbai as the team will be expecting him to perform well in the Eliminator round against Lucknow. Once R Sharma gets into a groove, he can be a potent threat to Lucknow’s bowling line-up.
#3 R Bishnoi (Lucknow): R Bishnoi has been one of the impactful bowlers for Lucknow in the ongoing edition of the Indian Playerzpot League. In the previous match against Kolkata, Bishnoi scalped two wickets while conceding just 23 runs at an economy rate of 5.2 in four overs. The Kolkata batting line-up was clearly struggling to play against his spin bowling. This season, the 22-year-old has picked 16 wickets at an average of 22.56 and an economy rate of 7.76 in 14 matches so far. R Bishnoi has the ability to bowl in different variations which often left the batsmen confused to judge the ball. He can provide breakthroughs in the middle overs and can also bowl at the death. R Bishnoi is expected to be one of the key players for Lucknow in the Eliminator against Mumbai.
#4 SK Yadav (Mumbai): SK Yadav is having a great outing in the Indian Playerzpot League. He was struggling to play his natural game in the initial phase of the tournament but revived his lost form in the latter stage. In the previous match against Hyderabad, the 32-year-old scored an unbeaten 25 off 16 balls at a strike rate of 156.25. This season, SK Yadav has amassed 511 runs, including a century and four fifties, at an average of 42.38 and a strike rate of 185.14 in 14 matches so far. He has the best strike in the ongoing edition of the tournament. Also for the first time since 2018, SK Yadav has managed to score 500+ runs in an IPL season. SK Yadav is an attacking top-order who has the ability to turn the game around on its head with his firepower. His form is crucial for Mumbai in the Eliminator round against Lucknow.
Predicted Playing XI
Lucknow: K Mayers, Q de Kock [WK], P Mankad, M Stoinis, N Pooran, K Pandya [C], A Badoni, K Gowtham, R Bishnoi, Y Thakur, M Khan,
Mumbai: R Sharma [C], I Kishan [WK], C Green, SK Yadav, T Verma, T David, N Wadhera, P Chawla, J Behrendorff, K Kartikeya, A Madhwal
Top Picks for Fantasy Playing XI
Wicketkeeper: I Kishan
Batters: R Sharma SK Yadav, T Verma, N Pooran, C Green
All-rounders: K Pandya
Bowlers: R Bishnoi, J Behrendorff, P Chawla, Y Thakur,
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