After their 6-wicket win over Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) at the Wankhede, the Mumbai Indians made the big jump from number 8th to number 3 in the points table.
MI have now recorded 3 wins in their last 4 matches. All of these 3 wins – vs RR, PBKS, and RCB – have come while chasing big 200+ targets while their loss in these 4 games came batting first vs CSK.
The RCB-MI game was really crucial for both teams as both teams had 10 points in 10 games before that. Now, while RCB have dropped in the points table with a big loss, MI made the jump. Rohit Sharma‘s team has 12 points in 11 games and are looking forward to their destination playoffs.
Here are 2 conditions upon which Mumbai Indians can reach the playoffs in IPL 2023:
1. Win all three remaining matches and qualify directly for playoffs, even top 2
If Mumbai Indians win all their remaining 3 matches, not only they will certainly qualify for the playoffs, but also they will be in contention for a top 2 spot!
Two of their remaining three matches will be played at the Wankhede. Mumbai Indians’ batting is in such a dominating form that they are arguably the most feared batting group in this IPL as they have chased three 200 and over targets in their last 3 run-chases.
A top 2 finish is a very prized possession for all teams as it gives the teams another chance to fail on their path to the final. At the moment, though, Mumbai Indians would be more concerned about the upcoming games and secure a playoff berth first.
2. 2 wins can still help them into the playoffs, but MI need to improve their NRR
Mumbai Indians chased down 200 runs against RCB inside 17 overs, so this really boosted their NRR which had been dented severely because of a couple of big losses earlier in the season.
Out of their remaining 3 matches, even if MI win two of them, and win by significant margins, then, they are still likely to qualify for the playoffs and their NRR could help them in case of multiple teams at 16 points.
MI, however, cannot afford to lost more than 1 out of the 3 matches.
