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Mumbai Indians' (MI) fortunes did not turn around with a return to their home ground as they registered their third consecutive defeat in the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL). The five-time champions were outplayed by the Rajasthan Royals (RR) across all departments at the Wankhede Stadium on Monday, April 1.
After being put to bat first by Sanju Samson, MI had a horrible start, with three of their top-order batters being dismissed for a golden duck. Trent Boult and Nandre Burger made the ball talk in the powerplay to inflict some serious damage.
Following the new-ball display, Yuzvendra Chahal stepped up to claim three wickets to dent the middle and the lower order. Barring cameos from Hardik Pandya and Tilak Varma, MI did not have much going their way and ended with a below-par total of 125-9.
MI tried to be in the game with the ball, but they just did not have enough runs on the board. The home side made easy work of the struggling opening pair, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Jos Buttler, but could not thwart the in-form Riyan Parag. The RR all-rounder finished the game off after reaching his fifty and is now the Orange Cap holder.
Fans blasted MI's dismal start to the season on social media. Here are some of the reactions on Twitter:
"We were in a decent position to give us a chance to get to 150-160" - Hardik Pandya
MI had stabilized their innings to an extent at 76-4 through Hardik Pandya and Tilak Varma's partnership. However, MI once again lost the plot to be reduced to 95-7 in the 14th over and relied on the tail to stretch them across the 100-run mark.
Hardik admitted that his dismissal to Yuzvendra Chahal was a huge turning point in the game.
"Yes indeed a tough night. We didn't start the way we wanted to start. A tough night. We were in a decent position to give us a chance to get to 150-160. My wicket turned it around. It should have done a lot better. It's good to have good bowlers. Don't mind playing on this wicket to be honest. I mean absolutely right. It's all about doing the right things. Sometimes it happens sometimes it doesn't. As a group we believe we can pull off a lot of things if we perform better," Pandya said during the post-match presentation.
MI are next scheduled to face the Delhi Capitals (DC) at home on Sunday, April 7.
