Mumbai Indians fought and fought hard but fell 12 runs short of Punjab Kings’ total of 198 and now have suffered their fifth loss in as many games in IPL 2022. The doors are closing in for the five-time champions as they face early elimination from the playoff race.
MI remain the only winless side in the tournament now that Chennai Super Kings opened their account with a 23-run win over Royal Challengers Bangalore after they had also lost their first four matches.
To qualify for the playoffs from this position, Mumbai Indians have to pull off a miracle. There’s one good news and one bad news for MI fans: the good news is that they have pulled off such a miracle before, in 2015; the bad news is that then it was an 8-team IPL while now with 10 teams the final fourth qualification position will be tougher to attain from this position for Rohit Sharma’s side.
For reference, during the 2011 IPL, the last time when the IPL saw 10 teams compete playing 14 matches each, the team that qualified for the playoffs at the fourth position had 16 points, while the one with 14 points missed the top four.
In the 8-team IPLs in the past seasons, a team with 14 points had made it into the playoffs. However, it’s unlikely to be the scenario this time – as, going by the 2011 points table, a team would need 16 points to finish at number 4.
Going by this, now, Mumbai Indians have to win 8 of their remaining 9 matches. The odds are ridiculously improbable for MI to qualify from their current situation, and you wouldn’t want to bet more than a dollar on their playoff qualification.
The only reason for their optimism would be their previous record of bouncing back after losing a poor start. In 2015, MI had lost 5 of their first 6 matches; they then won 7 of their next 8 matches, qualified for the playoffs and even went on to win the title. However, as explained earlier, that was an 8-team IPL and this season there are 10 teams making MI’s qualification for playoff tougher with 14 points at the end (if they manage to scrap this losing streak).
So, in a nutshell, MI should not lose more than one league game of the remaining 9 to keep their playoffs hopes alive.
