IPL 2021: When was the last time Mumbai Indians lost 2 games in a row?
Mumbai Indians' defeat to the Punjab Kings on Friday was only the second time in three years that the side has lost two games in a row in the IPL.
Delhi Capitals (DC) defeated Mumbai Indians by 6 wickets on April 20, riding on Amit Mishra's 4-wicket haul and a well-timed batting chase. PBKS then restricted Rohit Sharma's team to just 131 on a sluggish Chennai wicket in Match No. 17. Punjab chased it in a canter, with 9 wickets and 14 balls to spare.
The last such occasion came in the IPL 2018. Mumbai Indians were trounced by the Ajinkya Rahane-led Rajasthan Royals (RR) by 3 wickets on April 22 that year. It was followed by a 31-run drubbing against Kane Williamson's Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) two days later.
Interestingly, before the two straight losses, Mumbai Indians lost three games on the trot in the same edition of the IPL. This was at the start of the season when they were defeated by Chennai Super Kings (CSK), SRH, and the Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals) in the first three games.
On account of these losses, the 5-time champions failed to make the cut for the qualifiers in IPL 2018. Mumbai Indians concluded the season in 5th position on the points table and CSK went on to defeat SRH in the final.
Middle-order a major concern for Mumbai Indians in IPL 2021
Rohit Sharma used to feature in Mumbai Indians' middle-order in 2018. After the formula failed woefully, the skipper started opening the innings, with youngsters Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan occupying the middle-order spots.
This, along with the addition of Quinton de Kock at the top order, resulted in their consecutive trophy wins in 2019 and 2020.
Unfortunately this year, every batter except Sharma and Yadav has been unable to counter the spin-friendly conditions at Chepauk.
Kishan and de Kock were the team's top scorers last season but have failed to fire in IPL 2021. Kieron Pollard and Hardik Pandya too struck at chart-topping strike-rates last season but are now scoring at 116 and 97.30 respectively.
Mumbai Indians will be happy to leave Chennai for their next leg of IPL 2021. However, if they have to avoid a third consecutive defeat, a middle-order solution is imperative. They will now play Rajasthan Royals on April 29.