NEW DELHI: Former India teammates Gautam Gambhir and Rohit Sharma met and hugged each other ahead of the all-important clash between Lucknow Super Giants and Mumbai Indians on Tuesday.
Rohit Sharma walked up to Gautam Gambhir and shook hands at the practice session at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow on Monday.
Gambhir, who had a heated exchange with Virat Kohli earlier this season, was seen cracking jokes and smiling along with Rohit Sharma in a video posted by LSG's Twitter handle.
Mumbai Indians and Lucknow Super Giants have seen their fortunes swing in the last few matches. While MI have won four of their last five matches, LSG's form has been patchy. When they lock horns on Tuesday night, anything less than a win will dent their playoff hopes.
But to enhance their chances, besides outfoxing their opponents, they would need to come out with a perfect plan that will work effectively on an Ekana Stadium pitch that is one of the slowest in this edition of the IPL.
The average first-innings score at the Lucknow venue is just over 143, which is the lowest among the stadiums used this season. Even LSG have struggled to get going on their home turf, which has seen them win just two of the six matches. They lost three while one was rained off.
The last match at the venue was played on May 3 but expect nothing to change when the first ball is bowled.
MI will be better placed thanks to confidence they must have gained from recording those convincing wins and climbing up the points table.
Without skipper KL Rahul, LSG have looked out of ideas in crunch situations. But they can use the victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad in their previous match to catapult their season back on track.
