Mumbai Indians Playoff Scenario: Sunrisers Hyderabad defeated Mumbai Indians by 6 wickets on Wednesday (April 29) at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. This defeat has dealt a big blow to Mumbai and the path to the playoffs has now become very difficult. Thanks to Ryan Rickelton’s brilliant inning of unbeaten 123 runs, Mumbai had made a big score of 243/5, but the bowlers could not save it.

Sunrisers Hyderabad won with eight balls to spare with the help of quick half-centuries from Travis Head and Heinrich Klaasen. This was Mumbai’s sixth defeat in eight matches, leaving the team with just four points and reaching ninth place in the points table. Although the situation is bad, playoff hopes are not completely lost.

What needs to be done to reach the playoffs?

Mumbai Indians will have to win all their remaining six matches to reach 16 points. In IPL, usually 16 points are considered enough to make it to the playoffs. Also, the team will have to win by a big margin so that the net run rate can improve.

What if I lose one more match?

If Mumbai loses one more match, it will be able to reach maximum 14 points only. In such a situation, the hopes of qualification will depend on the results of other teams and better net run rate. At present the net run rate of the team is -0.784, which is a matter of concern.

Every match becomes ‘do or die’

Now every match for Mumbai is like a ‘virtual knockout’. Another defeat could take the team out of the race for the playoffs. Under the captaincy of Hardik Pandya, the team will now have to perform well in every match. Mumbai has overcome difficult situations before and will hope for a miracle this time too.