Credit: X/IPL
On Friday, May 4, Mumbai Indians suffered their eighth defeat in 11 matches of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024, losing to Kolkata Knight Riders by 24 runs at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. With that, the fate of MI, in terms of making it to the IPL playoffs, lies firmly in the hands of other teams in the competition.
Firstly, Mumbai Indians, who have just six points with an NRR of (-0.396), must win all their remaining three games of the IPL 2024 league stage, against Sunrisers Hyderabad, Kolkata Knight Riders, and Lucknow Super Giants. Then, they need a lot of other results in the IPL to go in their favour to reach the playoffs.
MI have to hope that both SRH and KKR fail to win any of their remaining four matches respectively, leaving them with just 12 points, which will be the same as theirs. Also, Mumbai Indians can’t afford either Delhi Capitals or Chennai Super Kings, who are on 10 points each, to win more than one match in the league stage of the IPL 2024 from this stage onwards.
Furthermore, MI will also require for Punjab Kings and Gujarat Titans to not win more than two matches in the remainder of the tournament. If all these scenarios come to fruition, then there could be upwards of six teams stacked on 12 points at the end of the league stage of the IPL 2024, bringing in the NRR to decide which of the teams makes the playoffs.
All in all, except for mathematical calculations, Mumbai Indians are all but out of the reckoning in terms of making the IPL playoffs. However, MI fans can cling to the saying, “Never say never,” until their playoff hopes are alive in the IPL 2024.
