After registering their seventh consecutive loss in the last match, Mumbai Indians are at the bottom of the points table of IPL 2022.
The five-time champions lost to Chennai Super Kings by three wickets in their last game and are hoping for their maiden victory of this season by winning today's match against Lucknow Super Giants.
This is the Ambani-owned clan's worst start so far. Their previous low was five defeats in a row in the year 2014. However, Mumbai had managed to climb their way to play-offs that year.
After the mega auctions, there were several team changes in the Mumbai camp. Hardik Pandya and Trent Boult's exit has impacted the team's game too.
Even after having various batters, MI has failed to deliver results on the scoreboard. Ishan Kishan who was the highest bid of the mega auction failed to contribute enough to the team. He scored 135 runs in his first two matches and since then he has made only 56 runs in the next five games. Skipper Rohit Sharma has under-performed with a batting average of 16.29 runs in seven matches. The fall of early wickets has caused pressure on the middle-order batsmen, leading to instability on the scoreboard. Even though Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Verma have been consistent, the negatives of the teams have outweighed the positives.
When it comes to bowling, Mumbai lacks depth in their unit. Star player Jasprit Bumrah has not been able to show an up to the mark performance. Fast bowlers of the team such as Daniel Sams and Riley Meredith are lagging behind in experience. Injured Jofra Archer is not available to play this season. When it comes to the spinners, Murugan Ashwin is only the option they rely on.
To date, MI is the seventh team to lose six or more matches in a single IPL season.
The other teams which created this unwanted record are Deccan Chargers (7 in 2008), Kolkata Knight Riders (9 in 2009), Pune Warriors (9 in 2012 and 2013), Delhi Capitals (6, 6 and 9 in 2013, 2013 and 2014), Punjab Kings (7 in 2015) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (6 - 2017 and 2019.
Whether Rohit Sharma-led squad end their jinx of consecutive losses that too on their mentor Sachin Tendulkar's birthday is something to look out for.
However, if Mumbai Indians win today's game, their chance of reaching the play-offs is meagre.
