Mumbai Indians’ woes continued in IPL-17 as they suffered their fifth defeat, losing to the Rajasthan Royals by nine wickets at the DY Patil Stadium. The loss leaves Mumbai languishing in seventh place in the 10-team points table.
Batting first, Mumbai struggled to post a competitive total, managing only 152/9 in their allotted 20 overs. Opener Nehal Wadhera was one of the few bright spots for the team, scoring a brisk 49 off just 24 deliveries. However, the rest of the batting lineup failed to provide substantial support, with no other batsman managing to cross the 30-run mark.
Chasing the modest target, Rajasthan Royals made light work of the Mumbai bowling attack, reaching the target with nine wickets in hand and 23 balls to spare. Jos Buttler led the charge for Rajasthan, scoring an unbeaten 70 off 49 balls, while Yashasvi Jaiswal contributed with a valuable 41.
Speaking at the post-match press conference, Wadhera admitted that things didn’t go according to plan for Mumbai. He emphasized the importance of team results over individual performances, saying, “In T20s, individual scores only matter a little for me and the other players. It’s the result that matters and that Mumbai Indians should win.”
Despite the disappointing start to the season, Wadhera expressed optimism, drawing inspiration from past seasons where Mumbai recovered from similar setbacks to qualify for the knockout stage. He urged his teammates to draw on that experience and turn their fortunes around.
“Regarding the games we have [left] now, we need to win all the games to qualify,” Wadhera said. “We have been in such a situation in the earlier seasons as well, and have, upped our game and qualified. So, we are optimistic even now.”
Mumbai Indians will look to break their losing streak when they take on the Lucknow Super Giants in their next match on May 14th at the Brabourne Stadium.
