Last Update: May 21, 2023, 21:23 IST
Rohit Sharma-led MI beat SRH by eight wickets. (pic credit: sportzpix)
Mumbai Indians have kept themselves alive in the race for the playoffs with their eighth win of IPL 2023, taking them to the fourth spot
During IPL 2022, Mumbai Indians defeated Delhi Capitals in their final match of the season. The already ousted Rohit Sharma-led franchise did a favor for Royal Challengers Bangalore, helping them progress to the playoffs.
RCB were on 16 points and a negative run-rate. DC, before their loss to MI, had 14 points but a positive NRR means a win would help them finish in the top four and oust Bangalore.
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However, a five-wicket win over MI helped RCB extend their season before losing to Rajasthan Royals in the second qualifier.
Fast forward to IPL 2023 and MI now find themselves in a position where they need support from another franchise to make it to the playoffs.
After defeating Sunrisers Hyderabad, MI have taken their tally of points to 16 to reach the fourth position, but their run rate is negative.
Should GT beat Royal Challengers Bangalore in the last league match before the playoffs, it will ensure that MI finish fourth and qualify for the next round.
However, a win for RCB would pull them level on points with MI but since they have a positive NRR, it would push them into the playoffs at the cost of the five-time IPL champions.
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MI captain Rohit Sharma hopes that luck will be on his side this time.
“If we don’t go, we have ourselves to blame. If we go, I will give all the credit to the boys. That’s how it works. Last year, we did RCB a huge favour, I am hopeful that we will get the result we are looking for,” Rohit said on Sunday.
Rohit said that Mumbai Indians are not bothered about what is happening in the second match and their focus is on doing their job. “We came in with that mindset, we wanted to win and not worry about what happens elsewhere. What you can control, you can control and then hope for the best. .. I haven’t spoken to anyone,” he said.
MI did not start the season well, losing two matches in a row. However, they were not completely consistent.
“We corrected a lot of things as we went along. We didn’t start well and then won three matches in a row. We lost at crucial moments in the game – there were many such moments,” Rohit said.
He said, ‘Here in the match against Punjab where we needed 34 runs in 18 balls, we probably could have played well. And the last game against LSG, the game was in our hands after the first half of the innings. We can’t see much in that. Sometimes it doesn’t come along,” he said.
