MI's playoff qualification scenarios: How can Mumbai Indians qualify for IPL 2023 Playoffs?

Mumbai Indians (MI) will take on SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) in their last league match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday, May 21. This will be the day game of the doubleheader.

Mumbai Indians are among the three teams in contention for the last playoff spot, with Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) being the other two.

Defending champions Gujarat Titans (GT) were the first team to confirm a place in the next round. They are sitting pretty on the top of the points table with 18 points from 13 matches and will finish as table-toppers irrespective of the result of their last league game against RCB on Sunday.

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) also progressed to the IPL 2023 playoffs by winning their respective last league matches on Saturday, May 20. While CSK hammered Delhi Capitals (DC) by 77 runs, LSG sneaked home to a one-run win over Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).

While RR will have to wait and watch what fortune has in store for them, MI and RCB will be in action on Sunday, aiming to grab that last playoff spot.

What MI need to do to qualify for IPL 2023 playoffs

MI need to beat SRH on Sunday to give themselves the best chance of booking a place in the IPL 2023 playoffs. If they get the better of SRH and RCB lose to GT in the last league match of theseason, Mumbai will go through to the playoffs since they will finish with 16 points, while Bangalore will be stuck on 14.

However, if both teams win their respective games, MI will be at a disadvantage due to their inferior run rate. While Mumbai have a net run rate of -0.128, Bangalore’s run rate is healthy at +0.180.

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According to ESPNcricinfo, even if RCB win by the smallest margin of one run, Mumbai will need to get the better of Hyderabad by at least 79 runs to go ahead of Bangalore’s net run rate.

However, RCB have a huge advantage since they will be playing the evening game. They will know exactly what they need to do to finish in the top four.

What if MI go down to SRH?

Mumbai Indians cannot qualify if they lose to Sunrisers Hyderabad. Irrespective of the margin of defeat, they will be knocked out owing to their poor net run rate, even if RCB go down to GT in the last league match of IPL 2023. The team with the better net run rate between Bangalore and Rajasthan will then qualify.

How a washout in the RCB-GT match can help Mumbai Indians

If Mumbai Indians win their last league match against SRH and the Bangalore-Gujarat game is washed out, MI will qualify for the IPL 2023 playoffs.

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In such a scenario, Mumbai will finish on 16 points and Bangalore on 15, knocking out the latter.