"You just can't play with six batters!" - Fans troll MI for fifth straight loss in IPL 2022
Mumbai Indians (MI) suffered their fifth loss of the season against the Punjab Kings (PBKS) as they fell short by just 12 runs despite cruising in the chase at one point. The five-time IPL champions were already playing a batter short, and some avoidable run-outs proved fatal to their chances.
Young Dewald Brevis played a blazing knock of 49 and both he and Tilak Varma brought MI back into the chase. However, they just couldn't hold their nerves in the final stages and that cost them what could have been their first win of the season.
Fans on Twitter were disappointed to see such a drastic drop in the performance of the five-time IPL champions this season. Some also trolled Mumbai for not being able to win even a single game. Here are some of the reactions:
Run-outs of Varma, Pollard cost MI the game
Rohit Sharma showed promise once again by smashing some delightful strokes and took on the PBKS new-ball bowlers. However, he fell to the extra pace of Kagiso Rabada and couldn't convert another start into a big score.
Ishan Kishan too departed soon and Mumbai looked to be falling behind in the chase. Brevis scored no runs off his first six balls and it looked like he was not ready for the big stage. However, the 18-year-old smashed Rahul Chahar for 29 runs in an over and brought his IPL team storming back into the chase.
Tilak Varma also found boundaries at regular intervals and even after the departure of Brevis, Mumbai looked well in control. Suryakumar Yadav started from where he left off and things were going well for the Men in Blue and Gold.
However, both Varma and Pollard got run-out and that turned the game on its head. Yadav tried hard but perished and scoring 22 runs from the last over was too tall an ask for the Mumbai bowlers.
Rohit Sharma will need to find the right combination and try to include Tim David or Fabian Allen to get that much-needed depth in their batting.
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