Defending champions Mumbai Indians are right on the edge of the elimination from IPL 2021 after Kolkata Knight Riders beat Rajasthan Royals by 86 runs on Thursday. After the first leg of the tournament in India, Mumbai Indians were fourth on the table and looked like almost scrapping through to the playoffs. However poor performance in the second leg has put the Mumbai Indians playoff chances in jeopardy.

Following the start of the IPL 2021 UAE leg, Mumbai Indians lost three matches on the trot before bouncing back with 2 wins from the next 3 matches. They hammered Rajasthan Royals by a huge margin to keep their hopes alive of qualifying for the playoff spot but Kolkata Knight Riders win over Rajasthan Royals has dented all their hopes but still keeps them in hunt.

How Mumbai Indians can qualify for IPL 2021 Playoff

The defending champions are chasing a hat-trick of titles and to qualify for playoffs they will have to overcome the Sunrisers Hyderabad challenge on Friday. Fans will get to witness a doubleheader fixture on Friday wherein two matches will be played simultaneously for the first time in the history of the tournament. Delhi Capitals and Royal Challengers Bangalore will take on each other in the other match on Friday.

Mumbai Indians are currently sitting at the 6th spot with 12 points but their Net Run Rate is -0.048 while Kolkata Knight Riders boosted their net run rate to +0.587 after their victory over Rajasthan Royals on Thursday. The equation for Mumbai Indians is quite simple - they need to beat already-eliminated Sunrisers Hyderabad by 171 runs in Sharjah on Friday to qualify for the IPL 2021 Playoff. While bowling first will not be of any importance, Mumbai Indians will be hoping to win the toss and bat first in order to put up a huge total on board for bowlers to defend.

Chances of Mumbai Indians to qualify for IPL 2021 playoff

Fans have seen miracles happening in IPL history and defending champions Mumbai Indians are looking to do the impossible on the last day of the league stage matches despite having a slim chance for qualification. Mumbai Indians fans would have prayed for KKR loss on Thursday however Eoin Morgan's men blew away Rajasthan Royals in a one-sided contest.

Mumbai Indians playoff chances: How MI can qualify for IPL 2021 final four?

On the IPL 2021 Points Table, Mumbai Indian is currently at 6th position and will need to inflict a heavy defeat on Sunrisers Hyderabad to qualify for payoff.

Follow: