MI vs CSK: Is below-par Mumbai Indians knocked out of IPL 2022 Playoffs? What lies ahead?

Mumbai Indians the most successful team in the history of IPL are starring at early elimination from the IPL 2022 tournament following the defeat to CSK on Thursday. The MI vs CSK match at DY Patil turned out to be a nail-biting contest with MS Dhoni guiding the team to victory. For Mumbai Indians, the loss was their seventh in as many matches and now the qualification for play-offs almost looks bleak. 

Will Mumbai Indians make it to IPL 2022 playoffs?

Following the seventh straight loss, Mumbai Indians practically have no chance to make it through to the IPL 2022 playoffs. The five-time champions will be looking to avoid finishing at the bottom of the IPL 2022 points table at the end of the league stage.  Even if Mumbai Indians win their remaining matches in IPL 2022 they will reach a maximum of 14 points.

If Rohit Sharma and Co reach the target of 14 points they will have to wait for the results of the other nine teams to have an outside chance of qualifying for the IPL 2022 playoffs. The Men in Blue will have to win the remaining matches by a huge margin to boost their Net Run Rate (NRR). The team would also want the majority of the other teams to finish on 14 points to keep themselves in the race for IPL 2022 playoffs.

Mumbai Indians IPL 2022 journey so far 

Besides losing the match against CSK, Mumbai Indians now hold the dubious distinction of being the first team to lose the first seven matches in IPL history. It has been a terrible season for Mumbai Indians as they have struggled with both bat and ball and have failed to win even a single match. MI surpassed the earlier joint record of Delhi Daredevils (Delhi Capitals) and Royal Challengers Bangalore who started off with six defeats each in 2013 and 2019 respectively.

Mumbai Indians started their campaign with 4 wicket loss to Delhi Capitals. In their second match, there were beaten by Rajasthan Royals by 23 runs. In the third and fourth matches, MI lost to Kolkata Knight Riders (by 5 wickets) and Royal CHallengers Bangalore (by 7 wickets). In the next two matches, the five-time champions face Punjab Kings and newly formed Lucknow Super Giants and they went on to lose the match by 12 runs and 18 runs respectively.