As the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) season enters its second half, the race for the playoffs is heating up, and Mumbai Indians are set to host Lucknow Super Giants on Sunday at Wankhede Stadium. Both sides are boasting identical records of five wins from nine games, but they find themselves on opposite sides of the momentum scale.

Mumbai Indians are riding high on a four-match winning streak. Their recent performances have been incredibly outstanding, with both their batting and bowling units firing in unison. They got off to a slow start, losing four of their first five games, but they have made a remarkable turnaround to bring their campaign back on track. One of the major boosts for MI has been the return of Rohit Sharma to form with two successive 50-plus scores. Moreover, fast bowlers Jasprit Bumrah and Trent Boult have found their rhythm. With that said, MI will eye their sixth victory of the tournament to solidify their position in the IPL standings. 

On the other hand, LSG are struggling to find consistency, despite starting the season with promising performances. Although they have won two of their last three games, they’ve yet to hit the kind of rhythm needed to lift themselves up in the tournament. They have blown hot and cold over the past few outings, which in some ways has derailed their campaign. Their batting lineup, which at times has looked explosive, has failed to provide the necessary support in the last few games. The likes of Nicholas Pooran and Rishabh Pant have failed to make a mark. Meanwhile, LSG will need to find more consistency in their performances and fix their weaknesses to keep the playoff hopes alive.

Head to head

Matches - 7

MI won - 1

LSG won - 6

Mumbai Indians probable XII: Ryan Rickelton (wk), Rohit Sharma, Will Jacks, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya (c), Naman Dhir, Mitchell Santner, Deepak Chahar, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah, Vignesh Puthur

Lucknow Super Giants probable XII: Aiden Markram, Mitchell Marsh, Nicholas Pooran, Rishabh Pant (c&wk), Ayush Badoni,  David Miller, Abdul Samad, Shardul Thakur, Ravi Bishnoi, Digvesh Rathi, Avesh Khan, Prince Yadav