3 player battles to watch out for in LSG vs MI, Match 16 of IPL 2025 ft. Rohit Sharma

The Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) will host the Mumbai Indians (MI) in the 16th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 on Friday, April 4. The Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow will host this encounter.

Mumbai have only one win under their belt after three games. Losing their first two matches, MI thrashed defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders to register their maiden win of IPL 2025. Hardik Pandya and company will be riding high on confidence and will look to continue their winning momentum.

LSG also have one win to their name, sandwiched between two defeats. They have played well in patches, and the lack of form from key players like skipper Rishabh Pant has hurt them badly. The Super Giants will look to bank on home conditions and get their second win of IPL 2025 tonight.

The upcoming fixture will present a lot of interesting matchups. On that note, we take a look at three matchups that could decide the outcome of the match between LSG and MI.

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#1 Rohit Sharma vs Avesh Khan

The former MI skipper has had a horrible start to this year's IPL. He has accumulated only 21 runs in three matches, with a highest score of 13 against KKR in the last match.

Rohit Sharma will be up against Avesh Khan, who will take the new ball for LSG. The veteran right-hander has a woeful record against Avesh, scoring only 11 runs off 13 balls, including 10 dot deliveries, while getting twice in T20s.

Rohit will have to be extremely careful against Avesh's extra pace and outswinger, which has troubled him in the past.

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#2 Rishabh Pant vs MI spinners

The wicketkeeper-batter is yet to find his feet in LSG colors, accumulating only 17 runs in three outings, including a duck. The Lucknow skipper will be under pressure to score runs and lead his side from the front.

Rishabh Pant has particularly struggled against spinners in IPL 2025 so far, getting out twice in three matches and scoring only six runs off 13 deliveries. Thus, MI captain Hardik will be tempted to throw the ball to any spinner whenever Rishabh walks out to bat.

Young left-arm spinner Vignesh Puthur could be a good option against Rishabh, while the MI management could be tempted to bring in an additional off-spinner in Mujeeb-ur-Rahman to counter the batter's threat.

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#3 Suryakumar Yadav vs Ravi Bishnoi

Suryakumar Yadav is known for injecting intent in the middle overs by taking on the spinners. He has a wide range of shots, which makes him a threat to any opposing side.

However, Suryakumar has particularly struggled against Ravi Bishnoi, and LSG captain Rishabh Pant would be tempted to introduce the young leg spinner whenever Suryakumar comes in to bat. Bishnoi has dismissed the MI batter three times in 32 balls in the shortest format of the game, and will look to work his magic once again tonight.