They finished fourth in the league stage and have to play Eliminator.
Mumbai Indians (MI) had a golden opportunity to punch their tickets into the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 Qualifier 1 but messed it up big time. They needed four results to go their way to stand a chance of securing a top-two spot. The results favoured, but they could not help themselves, failing to beat the Punjab Kings in the final league game.
As a result, Mumbai Indians will have to play the IPL 2025 Eliminator against Gujarat Titans. Why is this a huge setback? The format of the playoffs is such that the top two teams get two chances to reach the final. The third and fourth-placed teams, however, have to win three games on the trot to clinch the trophy. Since the introduction of this format in 2011, only one team has managed to win the league after playing an Eliminator.
If that wasn’t enough, the Mumbai Indians are also plagued by multiple issues, making this road extremely difficult.
The biggest issue for MI heading into the playoffs is that their batting unit just hasn’t clicked collectively. Barring Suryakumar Yadav, only one other batter has scored 350 runs in the season. Ryan Rickelton made 388 runs at an average of nearly 30 and a strike rate of 151, but he won’t be available in the playoffs.
SKY has piled on 640 runs in the tournament at a strike rate of 167 while averaging 71. He has crossed the 25-run mark in each of the innings. These are ridiculous numbers, but not getting enough support from the other end has meant that he has had to tone down his attacking game at times.
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Tilak Varma and Hardik Pandya have been massive letdowns for the Mumbai Indians this season. Tilak averages 30 with a dismal strike rate of 132. It hasn’t helped that MI haven’t used him in his best position. The captain has managed 187 runs at an average of just 23 and a strike rate of 162. Rohit Sharma has hit three fifties but has been pretty inconsistent.
Unlike their batting, Mumbai Indians’ bowling is in better shape as they have Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah, and Mitch Santner. The Indian superstar has taken 17 wickets at an incredible economy of 6.33. Boult is the highest wicket-taker with 19 scalps at 8.51 economy, while Santner has bagged nine wickets at 7.89 RPO.
However, despite the presence of the Kiwi pair, their bowling has been ‘Bumrah or Bust’ on many occasions. Their third pacer, Deepak Chahar, and Hardik have been expensive. Hardik and the team management’s tactical blunders have been far too many and have held them back.
With Rickelton, Will Jacks, and Corbin Bosch leaving for national duties, Mumbai Indians will have to play with a different combination in Eliminator. In Jonny Bairstow, Charith Asalanka, and Richard Gleeson they have managed to secure like-for-like replacements.
MI need to correct their mistakes if they are to charge towards the final. Tilak likes playing at number three, from where he can pace his innings. Naman Dhir, who has a strike rate of 180 this season, should bat ahead of Hardik.
As for the bowling attack, they are expected to bring in Karn Sharma for Ashwani Kumar. Chahar had an injury in the previous game, and that could force them to change the combination. Playing Gleeson instead of Asalanka weakens the batting, but it would be a huge boost to the bowling unit.
If there’s one thing we know about the Mumbai Indians, is that they can go on a winning run when on a roll. They have won six on the trot earlier in the season. Three on the bounce isn’t out of their wheelhouse.
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