IPL 2024: How can Mumbai Indians (MI) qualify for the playoffs

Mumbai Indians led by Hardik Pandya haven’t quite been able to produce the necessary spark in the ongoing season of IPL 2024. Hardik Pandya, who took over Rohit Sharma as the new captain this season came under fire for his poor run of captaincy.

MI’s journey turned from bad to worse and their playoff chances took a big blow following their recent defeat to Lucknow Super Giants. The Lucknow-based franchise got the better of MI by four wickets. This marks their seventh defeat of this season.

Talking about the match, MI posted 144 for the loss of 7 wickets in their quota of 20 overs. Nehal Wadhera top-scored with 46 off 41 balls including 4 fours and 2 sixes whereas Tim David chipped in with a quickfire 35 off 18 balls (3 fours, 1 six).

On the other hand, LSG chased down the target with four balls to spare. Marcus Stoinis was the pick of the batters for LSG as he top-scored with 62 off 45 balls. He constructed his innings with the help of 7 fours and 2 sixes.

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IPL 2024 playoffs qualification scenario for Mumbai Indians

Hardik Pandya and Co. are already under immense pressure after losing seven games this season. As things stand, they are placed ninth on the IPL 2024 points table. Having played 10 games so far, they were able to win only thrice, collecting six points so far.

Their Net Run Rate hasn’t been good either as it reads -0.272. Let’s now learn how can MI qualify for the playoffs. MI have four more games in hand in the league stage. They will have to find a way to win all four remaining games of the tournament. One more defeat means that their journey is done and dusted.

If they win all four games, it will take them to 14 points but that won’t be just enough to guarantee them a playoffs finish. MI are wary of the fact that they have a negative NRR. With other teams already in contention, MI will have to win four games by massive margins.

This will ensure that they will at least have a healthy NRR, which might play a part in their journey. At the same time, they will have to expect other results to go in their favour, meaning that their journey is on the line.

Read more: IPL 2024: How can Chennai Super Kings (CSK) qualify for the playoffs