Mumbai Indians (MI) became the first team to be knocked out of the playoffs race in IPL 2024 after Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) beat Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) by ten wickets and 10.2 overs to spare on Wednesday.
SRH's victory in Hyderabad took them to third place with 14 points, behind Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals who have 16 points each. With LSG and Delhi Capitals (DC) playing each other on May 14, one of those teams will get to at least 13 points. The maximum MI can get to is 12 if they win their remaining two league games, which will leave them outside the top four. The same fate awaits the team that loses on Thursday, when Punjab Kings play Royal Challengers Bengaluru in Dharamsala.
MI began the season under their new captain Hardik Pandya but started poorly, with three successive defeats. Though they won three of their next four games, another streak of four successive defeats severely damaged their playoff chances.
Jasprit Bumrah has been their leading performer, topping the wicket charts after 12 games with 18 wickets and an economy of 6.20. However, none of their other bowlers have been economical enough, and their batters have underperformed, with no one scoring more than 400 runs after 12 innings. Tilak Varma is their highest scorer with 384 runs at an average of 42.66, with Suryakumar Yadav second with 334 in nine innings. Rohit Sharma has managed only 330 runs in 12 innings.
Hardik has had a poor season too, scoring only 198 runs in 11 innings, and taking 11 wickets with an economy rate of 10.58. Despite giving chances to Romario Shepherd, Mohammad Nabi and Nuwan Thushara, they have not been able to get the most from their overseas players. Their spin department was their weaker suit and took only 13 of their 68 total wickets in the tournament so far. While they won three of their six games at home, they have had a tough time on the road, with their only win in five away games coming against Punjab Kings.
Their early elimination means that MI's wait for their sixth IPL title continues, having won their fourth and fifth trophies in 2019 and 2020. Since then, they have made the playoffs only once in four seasons, in 2023 when they were eliminated by Gujarat Titans in Qualifier 2.