IPL-2022: 5-Time Champions MI Crashes To 6th Straight Defeat Even As Top Spots Are Up For Grabs!

Five-time IPL Champions Mumbai Indians (MI), the maximum number any franchise has won the tournament title, has crashed to their consecutive sixth defeat in IPL-2022 losing to Lucknow Super Giants (LPG) by 18 runs today at the Brabourne stadium Mumbai. The irony gets even bitter as this time the tournament has most of the league matches being played in Mumbai, the erstwhile home ground for the team, leaving the crowds with nothing to cheer for. I just wonder if this is some kind of a jinx with the newly appointed Team India captain in all three formats going on a losing spree like the former captain Virat Kohli with his team Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) figuring at the bottom steps of the points ladder in almost all the previous versions of the IPL! Now, MI is looking at a disastrous ouster from the tournament unless it achieves the near-impossible task of winning at least 7 of its remaining 8 matches to stay in contention.

 

What ails MI? Well, to my mind the biggest factors are the failures of MI Captain Rohit Sharma, opener Ishan Kishan, veteran Pollard and India’s main strike bowler Jasprit Bumrah to deliver. Rohit, even though he has become only the second player after Kohli to amass more than 10k T20 runs, has scored so far just 141 runs (highest 41) in 6 games while Bumrah has taken just 5 wickets in the six outings. There are, of course, other factors: MI has a weaker bowling attack with no one to give moral support to Bumrah; the franchise is sorely missing the absence its erstwhile integral keeper-batsman Quinton de Kock (now in LSG) and the mainstay bowler Hardik Pandya (now captaining Gujarat Titans); and the fall-out overdependence on Suryakumar Yadav, Dewald Brevis and the like.

 

However, even as MI is tottering on the brink of an ignominious ouster the tournament is really opening up with 8 teams in contention for the play-offs (the BCCI in the meantime has announced the play-off games to be played either in Lucknow or Kolkata and the Final on 29^th May in Ahmedabad). The newbies GT and LSG occupy the top spots in the points table with 8 points each, the former winning 4 out of 5 and the latter winning 4 out of 6 so far. While GT skipper Hardik Pandya is coming back to his potential the LSG skipper KL Rahul has been on a roll with the bat as well as in the new role of a proactive team leader. In the first of the double-header today Rahul has scored a glorious 103 not out off 60 balls helping his team set up a daunting target of 200 runs for MI.

 

At the moment RCB with its terrific victory over Delhi Capitals (DC) today rises to the third position with 8 points, followed by Rajasthan Royals (RR), Punjab Kings (PBKS), Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) locked with 6 points each, the net run-rate putting them in this order that can change instantly. DC remains with 4 points winning just 2 of 5 outings. One highlight of the tournament is the resurgence of the SRH winning all its last three matches under the leadership of Kane Williamson. KKR is, as always, unpredictable just like its vital all-rounder Andrew Russel. Dinesh Karthik whose performance for the KKR was under a scanner is now showering fours and sixes for the RCB: in today’s match building an unbeaten partnership of 97 runs with Shahbaz Ahmed (32 in 21) and contributing a glorious innings of 66 runs in just 34 balls thus rescuing the team from a precarious position to setting a challenging target of 190 runs for DC, finally enabling his team to win by16 runs. There was also a sterling performance by Glen Maxwell of 55 runs in 34 balls earlier in the innings. 

 

Unfortunately, there is nothing to write home about Virat Kohli who is in bits and pieces with the bat for RCB that he had led in earlier versions. Some critics even question his place in the team as he is no longer the captain. Chennai Super Kings (CSK) has in the meantime managed to win just one match out of five beating the RCB thanks to great innings of 95 not out by Shivam Dube and 88 by old guard Robin Uthappa thus setting an unassailable target of 216 runs. Apart from the non-performing veterans like Dhoni, Moeen Ali and Bravo the CSK is sorely missing its main strike bowler Deepak Chahar who is ruled out of the tournament due to injury. Captain Ravindra Jadeja and youngster opener Ruturaj Gaikwad are yet to play to potential. For struggling DC Rishabh Pant and David Warner are also not performing consistently; however, this team has the wherewithal to come up anytime.

 

Many more exciting contests are yet to unfold in the coming days that can change the table in any possible way for at least 8 of the 10 franchises. And of course, all teams should be wary of instinctively opting to field first on winning the toss as the results so far show.