Mumbai Indians’ path to the top got tougher after their loss to Punjab Kings. Now they’ll have to play the eliminator match. They’ve done this four times before, but never made it to the final.
In the IPL, the top four teams make it to the playoffs. The top two teams get two chances to make it to the final. If they lose the first match, they can still play the second one. Punjab Kings have already secured their spot in the top two.
The third and fourth teams have to win three matches in a row to take home the trophy. They play each other in the eliminator match – the winner moves on, the loser goes home. Mumbai Indians will play one of these matches, but their opponent is still unknown.
This is Hardik Pandya’s first time leading Mumbai Indians to the playoffs. Under Rohit Sharma’s captaincy, the team won five championships. In total, Mumbai Indians have made it to the playoffs 10 times.
Their first championship was in 2013 under Rohit Sharma’s captaincy. They won again in 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2020. Each time, they were in the top two.
Mumbai Indians first made it to the final in 2010 with Sachin Tendulkar as captain. But they lost to CSK. They’ve also made it to the playoffs in 2011, 2012, 2014, and 2023, but never won the championship those years.
Here’s how Mumbai Indians did in their previous eliminator matches:
- Won the eliminator, but lost the next match.
- Lost the eliminator match.
- Lost the eliminator match again.
- Won the eliminator, but lost the next match.
Mumbai Indians have a record of two wins and two losses in eliminator matches. But they’ve never won the championship after being the third or fourth team.