What happened the last time MI played an Eliminator match in the IPL?
The Mumbai Indians (MI) are set to take on the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in the IPL 2023 Eliminator at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Wednesday, May 24.
Meanwhile, the last time Mumbai played in an Eliminator was back in 2014. The most storied rivalry of the IPL between Mumbai and the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) was at its peak when they locked horns in the Eliminator of IPL 2014.
Winning the toss and bowling first, CSK restricted MI to 173/8 in their 20 overs on a belter of a track. In reply, CSK hunted down the target in only 18.4 overs with seven wickets to spare to knock Mumbai out of the playoffs.
Suresh Raina was adjudged the Player of the Match for his sparkling knock of 54 from 33 deliveries, including four boundaries and two sixes.
Mumbai had made the most dramatic turnaround to qualify for the playoffs after starting the 2014 season with five straight losses. This included winning four consecutive games to round off the league stage. The final win against the Rajasthan Royals (RR) is still one of the most talked about IPL games to date.
Rohit Sharma and Co. needed to chase an improbable 190 in 14.3 overs to pip RR on net run rate. MI pulled off the miracle with a six from Aditya Tare to score 195/5 in 14.4 overs and qualify for the playoffs by the narrowest of margins.
Corey Anderson scored a majestic 95 off 44 deliveries as Mumbai capped off one of the most thrilling victories in IPL history amid confusion over the required target with each passing delivery of the 15th over.
However, the Mumbai Indians could not continue their Cinderella run through the playoffs, losing to their arch-rivals CSK convincingly.
It was also the last time MI lost to CSK in the playoff stage of the IPL. Since then, they have beaten the Men in Yellow in Qualifier 1 and the final in 2015, followed by the final in 2019.
Mumbai and Chennai had split their meetings in the finals of the 2010 and 2013 seasons, with CSK winning the former and MI the latter. They also met in the 2012 Eliminator, which Chennai won handily by 38 runs.
The Mumbai Indians have been IPL champions five times in their rich history, and on each occasion, the team finished in the top two of the points table.
The Qualifier-Eliminator format came into fruition in the 2011 season to reward the top two teams in the points table with two opportunities to qualify for the final.
Rohit Sharma and Co. emerged victorious in the 2011 Eliminator against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). However, they lost the other two Eliminators in 2012 and 2014 to the Chennai Super Kings.
"I am counting on Rohit Sharma to come good" - Harbhajan Singh on MI skipper
Harbhajan Singh has backed Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma to come good in the knockout game against the Lucknow-based franchise.
After a lean patch of form for most of IPL 2023, Rohit has shown glimpses of form in the last few matches. He also scored a half-century in the must-win game against the SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH).
"I am counting on Rohit Sharma to come good," Harbhajan said in a video uploaded on his YouTube channel. "A big player will step up in the big match and Rohit will have the responsibility to get a good partnership at the top so that the likes of Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma can then come and tackle the spinners."
Rohit has amassed 313 runs in 13 matches at a strike rate of 134.33, including two half-centuries.
Meanwhile, the winner of this high-voltage Eliminator will advance to play the Gujarat Titans (GT) in Qualifier Two in Ahmedabad on Friday, May 26, while the loser will stand eliminated.
The two sides met once this season, with LSG winning a thriller by five runs in Lucknow on May 16.