Mumbai Indians Playoffs Scenario: Can MI Still Finish in Top 4 in IPL 2024 Points Table After Defeat to RR?

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Five-time champions Mumbai Indians (MI) on Monday (April 22) suffered their fifth loss of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 after going down by 9 wickets to Rajasthan Royals in match 38 at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur.

After losing the top order in a hurry, Hardik Pandya's side were dug out of a mess by youngsters Tilak Varma (65 off 45 balls) and Nehal Wadhera (49 off 24 balls) to post a total of 179, but the joint-record winners failed to defend the target.

Royals rode on an unbeaten century from Yashasvi Jaiswal (104 off 60 balls) alongside knocks from Sanju Samson (38* off 28 balls) and Jos Buttler (35 off 25 balls) to chase down the score with 8 balls to spare.

With that result, Royals extended their lead at the top of the IPL 2024 points table thanks to their seven wins in 8 matches for 14 points, while Mumbai Indians remained in seventh despite suffering a loss with 6 points from 8 matches.

MI suffered a slight dent in their playoff qualification hopes following their fifth defeat of the season. However, there is still time for the five-time champions to keep their top 4 hopes alive. Can they still finish in playoff positions? Here is a look at MI's Playoff chances in 2024:

Mumbai Indians Playoffs Scenario in IPL 2024

With six more matches left in the league phase and six points already on the board, Mumbai Indians are still alive in the playoff race. But will need to go on a winning run to make it a reality in the upcoming matches.

MI remaining IPL 2024 matches

• MI vs Delhi Capitals - April 27, Saturday - 3:30 PM IST (Arun Jaitley Stadium)
• MI vs Lucknow Super Giants - April 30, Tuesday - 7:30 PM IST (Ekana Stadium)
• MI vs Kolkata Knight Riders - May 3, Friday - 7:30 PM IST (Wankhede Stadium)
• MI vs Sunrisers Hyderabad - May 6, Monday - 7:30 PM IST (Wankhede Stadium)
• MI vs Kolkata Knight Riders - May 11, Saturday - 7:30 PM IST (Eden Gardens)
• MI vs Lucknow Super Giants - May 17, Friday - 7:30 PM IST (Wankhede Stadium)

The Mumbai Indians will be playing three of the remaining league stage matches at home, but face an opponent who has already beaten them this season in SRH. They also play LSG and KKR twice over the course of the next few weeks.

MI has beaten DC already and will hope to do the double over the Capitals to start off their quest to finish in the top four at the end of the season. KKR and LSG could be tricky opponents for MI, who need to win at least five of their six remaining games to reach the playoffs.

Even four wins may do it, but for that MI will need many other results to go their way. So, Hardik Pandya's team face an uphill battle as they look to end a three-year title drought.