Mumbai Indians who won their last 6 matches in the Indian Premier League suffered a speed bump on their way to the play-offs when they lost to Gujarat Titans in a rain-affected match at the Wankhede on Tuesday. After the defeat to the Gujarat Titans, Mumbai Indians have 14 points from 12 games. After their narrow defeat to GT, Mumbai still have a final home game at the Wankhede Stadium against Delhi Capitals. They will definitely need to win this one.
One win from two games gets to 16 points, which will leave them in a dicey situation. But winning both the remaining games could ascertain a spot in the playoffs for the five-time champions. Former India bowler Anil Kumble echoed this thought, saying that needed to win both their remaining matches because they won’t want to rely on other teams to seal their destiny.
“18 points should secure a play-off spot. need to win just one of their remaining three to get there. For Mumbai, they must win both upcoming games. At 16 points, things can get tricky — you don’t want to rely on other teams’ results. From winning six in a row to losing today, MI won’t want to take it to the wire. Winning both games is a must to control their destiny,” Kumble said on JioHotstar.
Mumbai’s last two games are against two teams who are also chasing an playoffs spot.
While Mumbai have played 12 games, all the other playoff contenders have one more game on hand, which makes things tricky for . What is heartening for Mumbai is that they have the best net run rate in the IPL, which will come in handy if they get tied on points with other teams after the end of the season.
In the match on Tuesday, batting first, Mumbai Indians were restricted to a below-par 155 for eight. In reply, GT chased down the revised target of 147 in the last ball of the match after two rain interruptions. Skipper was GT’s top-scorer with a 46-ball 43, while and bowled beautifully to pick up two wickets apiece for MI.
Earlier, Will Jacks top-scored for the home team with a 35-ball 53 while adding 71 runs for the third wicket with (35 off 24 balls). Batting at number eight, Corbin Bosch smashed 27 in 22 balls to prop up MI innings towards the end.
