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Mumbai Indians (MI) went down to Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by 24 runs in match number 51 of IPL 2024 at the Wankhede in Mumbai on Friday, May 3.
After asking KKR to bat first, MI allowed their opponents to recover from 57-5 to post 169. In their chase, Mumbai Indians crumbled to 71-6 and eventually folded up for 145 in 18.5 overs.
Nuwan Thushara claimed 3-42 for Mumbai in four overs, while Jasprit Bumrah also excelled with 3-18. In the chase, Suryakumar Yadav top-scored with 56 off 35, but none of the other batters rose to the challenge as Mumbai Indians succumbed to yet another defeat.
Following their loss on KKR on Friday, MI have been all but knocked out of the playoffs race for IPL 2024. With six points from 11 matches, they have only a slim mathematical chance of finishing in the top-four even if they win their remaining three matches in the league stage.
As Mumbai Indians look set to exit the tournament before the playoffs, we explore three reasons why IPL 2024 has been their worst-ever season.
#1 Mumbai Indians have been abysmal overall
While Mumbai Indians have not won the IPL since 2020, they have shown glimpses of being a champion side. This season, they won three matches, but it has been a clear case of completer failure as a unit.
On paper, Mumbai Indians look a strong outfit, but, on the field, they have looked disjointed and disoriented. And that has reflected in their abysmal performances in IPL 2024 across departments right from the start of the tournament.
If we look at the stats, no Mumbai player has crossed the 350-run mark after 11 matches. Tilak Varma, one of the few bright spots for them in a hugely disappointing year, is the leading run-getter with 347 runs. Former skipper Rohit Sharma is second with 326 runs, but he has gone off the boil lately.
Rohit's opening partner, Ishan Kishan, has had a struggle. He has scored 257 runs at an average of 23.36, with only one half-century. It hasn't helped that Suryakumar missed MI's initial few games due to injury. The batter has notched up three fifties in eight matches but hasn't found much support.
In bowling, Bumrah has been more or less a lone warrior. He's the Purple Cap holder, with 17 scalps at an average of 16.11 and an economy rate of 6.25. Gerald Coetzee has claimed 13 wickets but at an economy rate of over 10. The rest have pretty much been making up the numbers.
#2 Hardik Pandya has looked totally out of sorts as captain and player
When Mumbai Indians decided to replace Rohit as captain and give the top post to Hardik Pandya, it was a massive decision.
Although Rohit hasn't won the IPL as leader post 2020, the players had become increasingly at ease under his leadership. Pandya had huge boots to fill replacing Rohit, but he was amazing as Gujarat Titans skipper for two seasons.
The dynamics at Mumbai Indians, though, are completely different, and Pandya has failed both as captain and player. Even as the 30-year-old has tried to fake a calm demeanor in pre and post-match interactions, his frustration has been visible in his outbursts in the middle, with MI coming up with one disastrous performance after the other.
It also hasn't helped that Pandya has failed to inspire as a leader in an individual capacity. Both his batting and bowling performances in IPL 2024 have been below acceptable standards. He has a highest score of 46 and has been dismissed for 0 and 1 in his last two innings. Pandya has picked up eight wickets at an economy rate of 11.
His open criticism of Varma after the team's loss against Delhi Capitals also didn't go down well with experts and former players. If anything, it only raised further question marks over his ability as a leader.
#3 It has been a season marred by controversies for MI
Mumbai Indians were embroiled in controversies much before IPL 2024 began. The decision to sack Rohit as captain and bring in Pandya as leader didn't go down well with fans of the franchise. Many experts were also critical of the decision.
While no one among the players in the current MI setup openly shared their views on the change in guard, there were a few cryptic posts hinting that all was not well in the franchise. Things went from bad to worse for Mumbai when Pandya was vociferously booed by fans in the first half of IPL 2024.
The players have tried hard to put up a united front, but the lack of cohesion in the side following the unexpected change in leadership has been all too evident. While fans and critics wouldn't have expected MI to come up with such a disastrous performance in IPL 2024, the writing was pretty much on the wall from the start.
