Five-time IPL champions Mumbai Indians have had the worse possible start to the IPL 2022 where they have lost their first six matches on a trot. They have lost to Rajasthan Royals, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Delhi Capitals, Punjab Kings, Kolkata Knight Riders and Lucknow Super Giants so far. Captain Rohit Sharma has tried new plans and combinations in almost every match but nothing has worked for them so far as well.
However, they are almost on the verge of getting eliminated from the race to the playoffs. But, still, there are some chances of qualifying for IPL 2022 playoffs. As per the IPL 2011 points table, in the only previous 10-team IPL season, the team that placed fourth had 16 points. So, Mumbai Indians need to win all of their eight matches to reach the playoffs in IPL 2022.
While it looks quite tough, in 2014, Mumbai Indians lost their first five matches but still qualified for the Top 4. However, one more defeat will end their hope to qualify for the playoffs as well. As far as the current points table is concerned, it should not be a surprise if a team with 14 points also qualify for the playoffs. However, Mumbai Indians should try to win all eight matches or at least seven matches to be in the race.
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After their last defeat, Rohit Sharma said: “Hard to point out one particular situation, when you are chasing a total we need big partnerships, something we failed to do today. There’s no particular reason to it, we try and put team before the individual. They bat quite deep and it is important to hold your key bowlers towards the back end. We always try and keep Bumrah for the back end and it didn’t seem to work out. He bowled pretty well but the others just need to pull up their socks a little bit. Every game we play is an opportunity, we try and think what our best playing XI which is best suited for the particular conditions and particular team. We lost 6 games now, we are trying to understand what our right combination is, but it all depends on the opposition that we play.”
He concluded, “When you lose games it is very easy to point out that changes are being made but we try and go with our best eleven. I think KL batted brilliantly that is something missing from our team, wanted someone in our top four to bat as long as possible which is not happening, don’t want to look too much into it. We haven’t won a game yet but we need to keep our heads high. I’m trying to prepare myself in the way I prepare for every game, that is no different. It’s not coming off, I take the full responsibility of no putting the team in the situation of what they expect from me. I back myself to go out there and enjoy the game and doing what I have been doing all these years. It’s important to keep looking forward. It’s not the end of the world, we have come back before and we will try and comeback again.”
