Published on: May 4, 2026 4:11 pm IST|Updated on: May 4, 2026 4:19 pm IST
Match no. 47 in the Tata IPL 2026 is upon us, and it’s going to be a battle between the two bottommost teams, i.e., the Mumbai Indians and the Lucknow Super Giants. The Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai is all set to play host to this contest. The 5-time champions, the Mumbai Indians, are the first team to bow out of the Tata IPL 2026 and will be playing this game for pride. However, for the Lucknow Super Giants, a lot is at stake. Despite being at the bottom of the points table, they have a glimmer of hope of making it to the playoffs, but the road ahead isn’t going to be easy, as they have to win all their remaining fixtures from here on.
With only two wins and six losses from eight games, they are languishing right at the bottom, but to turn the season around from here and make it to the playoffs, LSG needs to win each and every game from here, starting from this clash against the 5-time champions, the Mumbai Indians. Ahead of this fixture, LSG have to be on their toes with their best possible eleven, and with the availability of Aussie wicketkeeper-batter Josh Inglis, they can redefine their eleven and infuse some strength in their already struggling batting order.
Lucknow Super Giants haven’t been a threatening side this season, courtesy of their batting. Their bowlers, particularly the Indian seamers, have been admirable throughout the season, but the batters haven’t supported them a bit. Despite big names like Mitchell Marsh, Nicholas Pooran, Aiden Markram, and the skipper himself, Rishabh Pant, in their ranks, LSG’s batting has been nothing short of awful this season.
Josh Inglis’ inclusion in the eleven isn’t just another change but a necessity to somehow infuse some sort of belief in the struggling batting unit. Although Inglis hasn’t been in the best of form lately, particularly in the T20 World Cup 2026 (the tournament he featured in ahead of the IPL 2026), his inclusion in the current LSG eleven will be a welcome change as the team management continues to explore options in their batting lineup.
Josh Inglis’ inclusion in the batting order would mean one of the four overseas players has to sit out. In the last game, LSG opted for Aiden Markram, George Linde, and Nicholas Pooran as their four overseas picks. The automatic choice here has to be Nicholas Pooran, who is enduring perhaps his worst IPL season. The West Indian has scored only 82 runs this season across 8 innings at a strike rate of a mere 81.18. Given his current form, the left-hander doesn’t deserve to start in the eleven.
The other options could be Aiden Markram and a full-on overseas-heavy batting order if the LSG think tank decides to drop George Linde. Let’s take a look at three possible scenarios in which Inglis could be included in LSG’s eleven.
Inglis heading into the eleven for LSG’s must-win clash against MI is a no-brainer. However, it remains interesting to be seen whom the Aussie wicket-keeper batter would replace in the eleven.
Tags: IPL 2026