IPL 2019: Here's how Mumbai Indians can still get knocked out of the tournament

Mumbai Indians (MI) were at the receiving end of Andre Russell’s brutal hitting on Sunday. His 40-ball 80-run knock led to the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) posting a mammoth total of 232 runs in 20 overs. At one stage in the chase, MI were 58/4 in the ninth over and were literally saved by Hardik Pandya‘s even more fantastic knock. He outscored Russell by smashing 91 runs off just 34 runs which led to Mumbai reaching 198/7 and losing the game only by 34 runs.

Things could’ve been worse for the three-time champions if not for Pandya’s blitzkrieg and their net run-rate could’ve gone haywire. Nevertheless, they are still on 14 points and need only a solitary win from the last two matches to go through. However, funny things have happened in the past and there is still a minor possibility of them getting knocked out of the tournament.

What if MI loses both the remaining matches?

MI are left with the matches against the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the last week of the league stage. Though both these matches will be played at the Wankhede stadium, their home ground, they will be in trouble if both SRH and KKR manage to defeat MI. MI will stay at the 14 points in this case and can still go through with a better net run-rate.

But if they lose these games by a significant margin and the likes of SRH, KXIP or KKR up their games in this week, then there might be a problem in store for the Rohit Sharma-led side. In case, the Orange Army go on win all their remaining matches, they will end up on 16 points and easily qualify for the playoffs. At the same time, if KXIP or KKR go win their other two matches, then one of the teams will end up on 14 points to tie with the MI in which case, the net run-rate will come into play.

In another scenario, if SRH lose to KXIP but go on win their other two matches while KXIP lose to KKR and then defeat CSK in their last league game, SRH and KXIP will end up on 14 points. And if KKR also wins both their matches, there will be a four-way tie at 14 points and two teams with better NRR will go through.

Here are the scenarios:

Pre-Requisite: MI loses both their remaining matches

Case 1.

Match 48 – April 29: SRH vs KXIP – SRH

Match 49 – April 30: RCB vs RR – RCB/RR

Match 50 – May 1: CSK vs DC – CSK/DC

Match 51 – May 2: MI vs SRH – SRH

Match 52 – May 3: KXIP vs KKR – KKR/KXIP

Match 53 – May 4: DC vs RR – DC

Match 54 – May 4: RCB vs SRH – SRH

Match 55 – May 5: KXIP vs CSK – KXIP

Match 56 – May 5: MI vs KKR – KKR

If the aforementioned results go as expected, then MI and either KXIP or KKR will finish at 14 points. SRH will qualify with 16 points. CSK and DC have already qualified for the playoffs.

Case 2.

Match 48 – April 29: SRH vs KXIP – KXIP

Match 49 – April 30: RCB vs RR – RCB/RR

Match 50 – May 1: CSK vs DC – CSK/DC

Match 51 – May 2: MI vs SRH – SRH

Match 52 – May 3: KXIP vs KKR – KKR

Match 53 – May 4: DC vs RR – DC

Match 54 – May 4: RCB vs SRH – SRH

Match 55 – May 5: KXIP vs CSK – KXIP

Match 56 – May 5: MI vs KKR – KKR

If the results of these matches go as expected, then MI, SRH, KXIP and KKR will end up on 14 points and only two of these teams will go ahead based on the NRR. CSK and DC have already qualified for the playoffs.

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