After a fantastic start to the inaugural Women’s Premier League (WPL), the Mumbai Indians (MI) are in a tough spot. After winning their first five games, the team led by Harmanpreet Kaur was off to a fast start and easily made the playoffs.
However, the team has begun to show signs of weakness, and they have now suffered consecutive defeats, jeopardizing their chances of finishing first in the league. MI went down by nine wickets to the Delhi Capitals (DC) after losing by five wickets to the UP Warriorz (UPW).
Batting first in quite a while, MI were simply ready to store up 127 and 109 in those losses and keeping in mind that the pitches have dialed back over use, their bowlers have not had the option to back up the hitters or put squeeze on the resistance players too.
Mumbai fell to second place after their crushing defeat to Meg Lanning and Co. on March 20. If they want to put pressure on DC for the highly prized first spot, they will need to win their final league match against the in-form Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).
In light of this, let’s take a look at the three main problems the Mumbai Indians face before the playoffs.
The bad behavior of Hayley Matthews and Saika Ishaque
The strong form of Hayley Matthews and Saika Ishaque was one of the main reasons the franchise was doing well early in the tournament.
The Caribbean all-rounder, who was a steal at the auctions, was effective with the bat as well as the ball. She was a strong contender for the Orange Cap and was one of the league’s best openers. She has, however, fallen off recently, scoring just 52 runs in her last four matches.
In contrast, Ishaque had built quite a nest atop the Purple Cap standings and was addicted to taking wickets. Similar as her colleague Hayley Matthews, she has had a bunch of forgettable trips. The left-arm spinner gave Sophie Ecclestone her Purple Cap after losing all three of her matches.
In addition, in the previous encounter, she endured the worst performance of the season. In her two overs, she gave up 36 runs to extend the dry run. In order to increase their chances of winning the championship, MI will be hoping that the pair regain their form before the playoffs.
Wickets falling in clumps
The team’s batting, particularly their lack of partnerships in the middle overs, is another concern. The team lost five wickets in the overs from 6 to 16 of their defeat to the UP Warriorz. MI lost four wickets on the powerplay in their most recent game against the Delhi Capitals.
They were less convincing with the bat even in their victory over the Gujarat Giants (GG), particularly toward the end of the innings. As a result, they lost five wickets in the final overs, which is still conceivable given that the batsmen had to hit boundaries and the foundation was laid.
Losing wickets in a bunch in the powerplay or the center overs is never a decent sign for the batting unit. The team will be looking for a solution to this problem because they have had problems on hard batting surfaces in the past.
The aura of invincibility has disappeared.
After a historic victory over the Gujarat Giants in the tournament’s opening match, MI established an aura of their own.
As the tournament progressed, they dominated their opponents, and their greatest strength was that they displayed no weaknesses.
In addition to their defeats, their nature has worked against the team and in their opponents’ favor. Opponents will feel like they have more than just a chance against the former league leaders, who have lost all momentum, thanks to the mild set of losses.
On Tuesday, March 31, they will play Royal Challengers Bangalore at the DY Patil Stadium in their final league stage matchup.