Focus on Hardik Pandya and Rishabh Pant

Match 16 of the Indian Premier League’s 18th season between Lucknow Super Giants and Mumbai Indians at the Ekana Cricket Stadium promises to be a must-watch encounter, one that pits the 6th and 7th-placed teams in the standings against each other. Both teams have lost two games and triumphed just once in IPL 2025 ahead of the game on Friday evening in Lucknow.
Why LSG vs MI is important:
After a rough start to the IPL 2025 season which saw them lose their first two games, MI course corrected thumping defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders with a huge margin of eight wickets. Thanks to that win, five-time champions Mumbai come into the clash against LSG with wind in their sails and trailing LSG only a whisker in the Net Run Rate.
LSG, on the other hand, come into the clash after being handed a humbling eight-wicket defeat at home the Punjab Kings.
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Talking points and key battles that could define LSG vs MI:
Eye on Hardik Pandya and Rishabh Pant: Both captains come into the LSG vs MI game under scrutiny since both their teams have won just once in IPL 2025. On top of that, runs from the bats of both players have dried up with Pant having scored just 17 runs while the Mumbai captain has racked up just 11 (although he did miss one game).
Ashwani Kumar vs Nicholas Pooran: This will be a contest between the boy who made his debut — and had an instant impact with four wickets — in Mumbai’s previous IPL game against KKR and LSG’s highest run-getter so far in IPL 2025. Orange Cap holder Pooran has scored 189 runs from the three innings he has played in IPL 2025. This includes the 44 runs he smashed from 30 balls against the Punjab Kings in LSG’s last game. How the young Ashwani tackles him could change the momentum of the match?
Ravi Bishnoi vs Suryakumar Yadav: Ravi Bishnoi was one of the five players that the Lucknow Super Giants opted to retain ahead of the IPL auction. Understandably so, since he is LSG’s highest wicket-taker since 2022. But so far in IPL 2025, he has been expensive after taking three wickets in 11 overs at an economy rate of 12.54.Story continues below this ad
On the other hand, middle-order stalwart Yadav is Mumbai Indians’ top run-scorer with 104 runs. LSG will hope that Bishnoi finds his form again and prevents the 34-year-old from launching Mumbai’s innings.