IPL 2021 SRH vs MI: Mission Impossible for Mumbai Indians? What MI need to qualify for Playoff

Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma at a training session. (Photo: Mumbai Indians)

Kolkata Knight Riders’ massive win over Rajasthan Royals in an IPL 2021 clash on Thursday (October 7) has all but assured them a berth in the Playoff this season. Eoin Morgan’s KKR thrashed the Royals by 86 runs to give a massive boost to their net run-rate.

The defending champions Mumbai Indians are currently in the sixth spot on the points table with 6 wins in 13 games and take on Sunrisers Hyderabad in their final league clash on Friday (October 8) evening. With their Net Run Rate reading -0.048, MI can only match KKR’s points tally with a win over SRH. However, the KKR’s NRR of +0.587 remains an almost insurmountable roadblock for Rohit Sharma’s side.

Can Mumbai Indians qualify for playoffs?

When two teams are level on points, their NRR comes into the picture in deciding which team will be placed higher in the points table. MI can match KKR’s points tally with a win on Friday, but their negative NRR game makes this almost ‘Mission Impossible’ for MI.

Talking of numbers, MI need to beat SRH by a whopping margin of 171 runs. The five-time IPL champions also need to bat first at all costs. If they bat 2nd, there isn’t a mathematical way through which they can better their NRR to the extent that they go above the Knight Riders.

MI had defeated the Royals by a huge margin in their previous game to given themselves a better chance of qualification but little did they know that KKR will put up an even better show against the Royals to put the equation in their favour.

class batting performance was followed by a class bowling performance @ShivamMavi23 the Man of the Match for his superb 4-wicket haul that derailed the #RR line-up #VIVOIPL | #KKRvRR | @KKRiders pic.twitter.com/xlsYPbu44Q — IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) October 7, 2021

Rohit Sharma’s are paying the price of a poor start to the UAE leg of the campaign. Losing 4 of their 6 matches since the resumption of IPL 2021, MI have failed to replicate their heroics from the last season.