IPL 2024: Can Mumbai Indians still qualify for the playoffs? Here is what must happen for Hardik Pandya's team

The beginning of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 season didn't hold anything special for the Mumbai Indians under the captaincy of the new skipper Hardik Pandya. The Mumbai-based franchise began the season with three successive defeats in the first three matches of this season. As a result, Mumbai fans initiated a social media campaign advocating for the removal of captaincy from Hardik Pandya and reinstating Rohit Sharma as the captain.

However, no such change occurred, and now, leading as the captain, Hardik Pandya faces a challenging path to take Mumbai Indians to the playoffs of IPL 2024.

Mumbai suffers yet another defeat

In the IPL match on April 22 (Monday), the Rajasthan Royals defeated the Mumbai Indians at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur. With yet another loss, Mumbai's path to the playoffs became even more difficult. Mumbai Indians have only managed to win three out of eight matches so far while facing defeat in five matches.

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For Mumbai to reach the playoffs, they need to secure at least 14, if not 16, points. This implies that Mumbai Indians must win at least five out of their remaining six matches. If Mumbai wins five matches, they will finish with 16 points, and they will also need to improve their net run rate of -0.227 during this period.

However, if Mumbai loses two matches, their chances of progressing further in this season will become nearly impossible. Currently, Mumbai has 6 points from 8 matches and is placed at seventh position in the points table.

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Sandeep, Yashasvi tame Mumbai Indians

Regarding the match against the Rajasthan Royals, Mumbai Indians scored 179 runs while batting first, with Sandeep Sharma taking a five-wicket haul for Rajasthan. In response, Rajasthan Royals' opening batsman Yashasvi Jaiswal played a phenomenal innings, scoring a century with 104 runs off 60 balls, including 9 fours and 7 sixes. As a result, the Mumbai Indians team faced defeat by nine wickets. Now, Mumbai's next match is against the Delhi Capitals on April 27th.

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