"You will keep breathing till he is there" - Aakash Chopra picks Nicholas Pooran among LSG players to watch out for in IPL 2024 clash vs MI

Ahead of the Lucknow Super Giants' (LSG) IPL 2024 clash against the Mumbai Indians (MI) in Lucknow on Tuesday (April 30), Aakash Chopra has noted that Nicholas Pooran is virtually the lifeline of the home team.

With 10 points from nine games, LSG are placed fifth on the points table. A win against MI will help them climb into the top three and improve their chances of qualifying for the playoffs.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra chose Pooran as one of the LSG players to watch out for in Tuesday's game.

"Nicholas Pooran once again because I have so much confidence in him. I feel you will keep breathing till he is there. He will keep hitting sixes. The side boundaries are huge but it doesn't matter to him. He says they might be big but he will still manage," he reasoned (3:55).

"He got out in the last match off the first ball after the strategic timeout. So he might be regretting that. If you bat first and he doesn't score runs, you are at least 20-25 runs short. That's what happened. No bowler apart from (Jasprit) Bumrah has performed well thus far, so you must back Nicholas Pooran," the former India opener added.

Pooran has smashed 291 runs at an excellent strike rate of 165.34 in nine innings in IPL 2024. The left-handed middle-order batter has smoked 22 sixes, which is the most by any LSG batter this season.

---

"He likes Mumbai a lot" - Aakash Chopra on LSG skipper KL Rahul

KL Rahul is LSG's top run-getter in IPL 2024. [P/C: iplt20.com]

Aakash Chopra picked KL Rahul as another Lucknow Super Giants player in focus against the Mumbai Indians.

"Let's go towards KL Rahul because he likes Mumbai a lot. Mumbai is also his in-laws' place and he scores a lot of runs against Mumbai. He has scored the most runs against Mumbai. I remember his century at the Wankhede. He played brilliantly," he said (3:10).

"I remember a game in Indore as well when he just extended his shot and hit Bumrah over cover. Whenever you see this team, you feel he is this team's axle. Everything revolves around him. So we will focus on KL Rahul," the reputed commentator added.

Chopra reckons either Mohsin Khan or Mayank Yadav, if the latter is fit and available, will be the LSG bowler to watch out for.

"I can go with Marcus Stoinis as well, or else I am thinking let me pick a bowler this time. It could be Mohsin Khan and if Mayank Yadav is available and plays, it could be him. So any one of the two whose name starts with M. It could be Mohsin or Mayank, you can pick whoever you want," he observed (4:50).

Mohsin has scalped seven wickets at an economy rate of 10.29 in six games in IPL 2024. Mayank snared three dismissals apiece in his first two games but hasn't played since suffering a hip injury in his third outing.