Lucknow,Ā Apr 4: Two stalwarts of Indian cricket — Rohit Sharma and Rishabh Pant — will be hoping to overcome their lean patch when Mumbai Indians face Lucknow Super Giants in a clash between two struggling teams in the Indian Premier League here on Friday.Five-time champions Mumbai Indians have not really clicked so far this season, with just two points from three games.
India captain Rohit’s form with the bat has put the MI team management in a tight spot. The same is for LSG skipper Pant whose extended dry run is not helping matters for the home side.
With both the teams almost identically placed with a solitary win each in three games, the contest could boil down to who exploits the conditions better on the day.
Given that the curators haven’t been providing tailor-made pitches to the home sides — something that has caused frustration of the coaches and players in some franchises — the team that gets a head-start with the bat or ball in the power play overs could call the shots.
The prolonged absence of MI pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah due to injury and the management maintaining a stoic silence on his return is only adding to the frustration of the Hardik Pandya-led side.
MI, though, found success in the handy pace of young left-armer Ashwani Kumar, who single-handedly demolished defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders with excellent figures of 4/24 in three overs in their win at home on March 31.