IPL 2022 MI vs LSG Preview - A not so glorious home coming for MI

Key match stats MI vs LSG

Pitch Stats – Brabourne Stadium

Average first innings score: 185
Average first innings winning score: 195
Average powerplay score: 52
All-time win % batting 1st vs batting 2nd: 50% / 50%

Team form MI vs LSG
MI – LLLLL
LSG – LWWWL
Recent meetings: n/a

MI vs LSG Preview

Mumbai's woes in the IPL 2022 continue.

It's incredible how in any sport when a team is out of form they manage to find ways to lose a match!

At one point it looked like young batting stars Tilak Varma and Dewald Brevis were going to lead the Indians to victory and potentially breathe fresh life into a stagnant looking side but the run out of first Tilak (twice in as many games) and then Kieron Pollard put pay to that.

In earlier match previews I'd commented on how poor Mumbai's all-round options are this year, particularly in comparison to previous campaigns and it appears that the coaching staff at MI agree based on their selection of 5 bowlers with Jayant Unadkat probably suffering from a nose bleed when they told him he was batting 7!

The Brabourne should be the type of wicket that this Mumbai team enjoys but without any form behind them it's difficult to make any predictions on how they'll perform.

Equally, MI should be benefitting from some raucous support as they head back to their home base. The fans certainly turned up for their last game down the road in Pune and then left in droves when Sky was out and any slim hopes of a victory faded.

As for LSG, they very nearly pulled off a last gasp win to beat the Royals but Marcus Stoinis couldn't quite finish the job at the death.

While Mumbai have very few all-round options LSG suffer from the opposite problem! We'll see whether they continue with a batting order of Gowtham at 3 and Holder at 4 for this match. The brilliance of Trent Boult somewhat exposed that idea and while the Brabourne Stadium has seen plenty of run scoring, it's also a pitch that has good pace and carry so fast bowlers can do damage on it particularly with the new ball.

MI vs LSG head to head

LSG bowling vs MI batting

Even a player of Rohit Sharma's immense talent and experience is showing how tough it is to captain a side and then come out and open the batting. A T20 innings might only be 120 balls long but it's played at a frantic pace and with almost no turn around time for a man in Rohit's position to clear his mind and focus on his game.

Chameera vs Rohit T20 head to head

LSG choose to recall Dushmantha Chameera for the game against RR, no doubt in order to take advantage of the swing and seam that the Wankhede usually offers early on. He bowled well and with the Brabourne also offering similar conditions for opening bowlers plus his record against Rohit, you'd imagine he'll keep his place here today.

The middle order will then come up against Ravi Bisnoi. I've commented already about the important role that Tilak Varma needs to play against the spinners. While Brevis found his feet against Chahar in the previous game I would still be concerned that if there is spin on offer then he doesn't seem to pick it. The Brabourne pitch didn't show any signs of turn last night so we wait to see.

Ravi Bisnoi combined T20 record vs current Mumbai squad

Then of course comes Kieron Pollard who every side is now targeting with wrist spin. Those big pads of his are just like a beacon for a wrong-un and Ravi Bisnoi has one of the best in the world!

MI bowling vs LSG batting

I've mentioned the pressure on Rohit at the top of this order but MI have a similar issue when it comes to Jasprit Bumrah. His 4 overs are so crucial to the side now that even if his performance levels drop a little (he hasn't been at his best this season) then Mumbai are in big trouble.

Franchise	Economy at the death
MI	14.2
RCB	12.6
LSG	11.9

Worst economy rates in the death overs (16-20) during IPL 2022

Usually you'd expect a team like Mumbai Indians with a bowler like Jasprit Bumrah to be very effective in the death overs but at the moment, they are going at an incredible 14 runs an over during the last 5!

With Marcus Stoinis coming in at number 8 and a few of the LSG middle order in Deepak Hooda and Ayush Badoni in good form it'll be a challenge again for Mumbai as to how they stem the flow of runs in those slog overs.

Quinton de Kock will be hoping that he can make his former employers suffer and his head to head record against this MI attack is very impressive. None of the current MI Team has ever dismissed him in T20 cricket before ...

Quinton de Kock combined T20 record vs current Mumbai squad

An LSG win today would put them top alongside fellow newcomers Gujarat Titans while leaving Mumbai firmly rooted to the bottom of the league. What odds would you have got for the table looking like that at the start of the season?

All stats used in this blog are from my own database. Images are my own with the exception of player profiles and background images which are used under a creative commons license or otherwise royalty free