The Mumbai Indians' (MI) hopes of reaching the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL) playoffs suffered a significant blow on Tuesday (April 30) after they fell to their third consecutive defeat, losing to the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) by four wickets with four balls remaining. 

The loss keeps MI rooted in ninth place in the IPL standings with only six points from 10 matches. Their net run rate of 0.27 further complicates their qualification chances. 

Mathematically Out of Contention?

The five-time champions have only managed three wins in the tournament so far, with seven losses. Even if they win their remaining four matches, MI can only reach a maximum of 14 points. Historically, no team has qualified for the playoffs with such a low score in the recent IPL seasons (2022 and 2023).

Their remaining fixtures include home matches against Kolkata Knight Riders (May 3rd and May 5th) followed by an away clash against the same opponent on May 11th. Their final match of the season will be against LSG again, scheduled for May 17th in Mumbai.

Earlier in the match, LSG captain KL Rahul won the toss and opted to bowl first. Their decision proved to be a masterstroke as they dismantled the MI batting line-up in the powerplay, dismissing key batsmen Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, and Tilak Verma cheaply.

A late fightback from Nehal Wadhera (46 off 41 balls) and Tim David (35 off 18 balls) helped MI post a somewhat respectable total of 144 runs. However, Marcus Stoinis' brilliant knock of 62 runs off 45 balls for LSG ensured a comfortable victory for the home side.