With T20 World Cup selection looming, KL Rahul will be desperately hoping to make the most of the opportunity and keep himself in the running for the second wicketkeeper-batter’s slot with a dominating show against an already under-fire Mumbai Indians bowling line-up when Lucknow Super Giants host them at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow on Tuesday.

Rahul’s strike rate has often been under the scanner, especially in the shortest format, and despite being a top-order batter hasn’t quite been fluent from ball one even inside the power play overs. He, however, has made amends in this season but despite scoring 378 runs at a strike rate of 144.27 he is still behind his nearest competitors in Rishabh Pant (160.60) and Sanju Samson (161.08).

Both Samson and Pant have made a strong case for themselves with their performances with the bat and the gloves, it could well be a race against time for Rahul. And as such, Rahul will be looking to fire all cylinders on Tuesday, not only to bolster his chances for T20 World Cup selection but also to help his side score in excess of 200 runs, which has become a norm in this edition.

The Lucknow Super Giants currently sit at the sixth position in the IPL points tally, and will head into the match on the back of a seven-wicket thrashing at the hands of Rajasthan Royals, who chased the 197-run target with six balls to spare. The team will thus be expecting Rahul and his partner Quinton de Kock to set the tone with a sound opening stand for the power-hitters in Marcus Stoinis and Nicholas Pooran to explode towards the end. Deepak Hooda, who has been due for big runs, will also be expected to add meat to the scores along with Ayush Badoni.

The LSG batters will fancy their chances against the under-fire MI bowling that was taken to the cleaners by the Delhi Capitals, the other day. Even the world class Jasprit Bumrah conceded a 19-run over before returning to his frugal self while the likes of Luke Wood and skipper Hardik Pandya were carted all across the park at the Kotla.

Tottering at the penultimate ninth spot in the IPL points tally, the five-time champions are left with a final chance to keep their play-off hopes alive, but for that, the MI outfit would expect a much-improved bowling performance.

Along with that, MI’s batting unit also has to fire in unison, and the likes of Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan and Tim David would need to raise their hands and put up consistent performances.

All-rounder Hardik Pandya hasn’t been able to make much of an impact in both departments, although he got his highest score this season against DC but would need more to inspire confidence in his team, and also impress the national selectors before they announce the T20 World Cup squad.