The Mumbai Indians batters have gone hammer and tongs in their IPL 2023 campaign so far. But their big-hitting, free-flowing prowess will be tested on Tuesday when they face Lucknow Super Giants in Lucknow.

Mumbai have terrorised opponents with their batting as they have comfortably gone past 200 — even while chasing — multiple times this season. But that record may not work at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow, which has notoriously made the life of batters difficult. It's slow, low and affords turn, resulting in low totals.

But if Rohit Sharma's Mumbai will be worried about the conditions, the home team also will really not be grinning ear to ear. Lucknow have struggled to dominate at their home ground and have lost three of the five completed games they played so far at the venue.

With the two teams separated by just a point — Mumbai have 14, Lucknow 13 — Tuesday's contest assumes great significance as the race for the playoffs enters the last lap. Neither team will concede an inch without an intense fight.

Since it is primarily billed as a contest of spinners, Lucknow probably have an edge with better personnel in their line-up. Besides stand-in captain Krunal Pandya, there's the young and energetic Ravi Bishnoi and wily old Amit Mishra.

Mumbai, on the other hand, depend too much on Piyush Chawla. Will they tweak their XI to include an extra spinner along with the pair of Chawla and Kumar Kartikeya? It's a tough call.

Mumbai, one assumes, will rely on their batting might to outmuscle Lucknow. With Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav in form, and the presence of Cameron Green and Tilak Varma as back-ups, they have a deadly line-up.

Today’s match

■ LSG vs MI in Lucknow, 7.30pm, live on Star Sports & Jio Cinema