LUCKNOW: Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) skipper Rishabh Pant and Mumbai Indians (MI) star Rohit Sharma will be under the scanner due to poor form when these two teams face off at the Ekana Stadium here on Friday.
The lean patch of the two stalwarts has put more pressure on their respective teams, both of which have blown hot and cold and not really built any sort of winning momentum so far.
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LSG lost their first home game to Punjab Kings by eight wickets, being outplayed in all departments, while five-time champions Mumbai Indians have not really clicked so far this season, with just two points from three games.
MI and LSG are sixth and seventh respectively on the points table, though Friday’s tie puts more pressure on Lucknow since it is another ‘home’ game, even though any sort of help from the surface hasn’t been forthcoming yet, leading to controversy.
MI, meanwhile, beat Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in their own backyard and will be relatively upbeat. It’s Rohit’s lack of runs at the top of the order, though, that may have them in a quandary.
The former MI skipper seems reluctant to give himself any sort of time to gauge the surface or settle in, which has invariably led to the fall of an early wicket. Meanwhile, Pant, the costliest player in IPL history, has just 17 runs from three matches.
Pant will be concerned about the runs not flowing from his blade ahead of a busy season. He has scores of 0, 15 and 2 in the three games so far and the ‘honeymoon period’ with a new franchise may soon run out.
The good news for the LSG skipper is that the team's depleted pace attack now wears a much-improved look with Avesh Khan joining the team against SRH and Akash Deep slated to play Friday’s game.
The prospect of some explosive batting from Nicholas Pooran (LSG) and Suryakumar Yadav (MI), though, will please the fans.
