Down and out of the race to the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 playoffs, Mumbai Indians and Lucknow Super Giants will look to end the season on a winning note during their face-off at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Friday.

While Mumbai Indians were knocked out of the playoffs race long back, Lucknow Super Giants’ chances of making the last-four are hung by a thread even if they win their last league stage game here by a huge margin.

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With 12 points in their kitty, LSG were one of the four sides battling for the final playoffs spot but three consecutive defeats have not only dented their chances, but also denied them crucial points besides affecting their net run rate. A 98-run loss to KKR was followed by a 10-wicket hammering by Sunrisers Hyderabad with a 19-run defeat to Delhi Capitals all but ending their chances of making it to the top-four.

Accordingly, the seventh-placed LSG’s NRR of -0.787 will not improve significantly for them to get back into contention, as Royal Challengers Bengaluru, at No. 6, are much better placed with a NRR of 0.387.

Meanwhile, five-time IPL champions Mumbai Indians were the first team to be knocked out of the race for the playoffs this year as they endured a terrible first season under new skipper Hardik Pandya. With only four wins from 13 matches so far, Mumbai Indians can at best finish with 10 points if they win on Friday, something that can possibly help them avoid a last-place finish.

It was a collective failure from the side, including Pandya, whose nightmarish run with both bat and ball, also contributed to their lacklustre show. Barring Jasprit Bumrah’s individual brilliance with the ball (20 wickets in 13 matches), there wasn’t much that the team could seek inspiration from.

As the focus gradually shifts to the upcoming T20 World Cup, starting June 1 in the US and the West Indies, Friday’s outing could be more about the performances of the Team India players such as Pandya, Rohit Sharma, Bumrah and Suryakumar Yadav given that they would be pivotal to India’s hopes of bringing back the elusive trophy.

Rohit is enduring a horror run with the bat with his best being 19 in the last six outings for MI, while Pandya too has not been able to inspire confidence in his all-round role. Suryakumar, though, has regained confidence with a strong showing in the IPL following three fifties and a century.

As for the LSG, failure to capitalise on key moments has propelled them to this stage, even though they will seek inspiration from skipper KL Rahul, who has had a successful run with the bat, scoring three half-centuries in his 465 runs this season at an average of 136.36. Barring Rahul, the onus will be on the likes of Nicholas Pooran and Marcus Stoinis to provide the late impetus.

Their bowling department hasn’t been able to overcome the loss of rookie quick Mayank Yadav due to an injury, and continues to remain an area of concern.