During IPL 2022, Mumbai Indians defeated Delhi Capitals in what was their final match of the season. The already eliminated Rohit Sharma-led franchise thus did a favour to Royal Challengers Bangalore, helping them progress ahead into the playoffs.
RCB were on 16 points and a negative run-rate. DC, before losing to MI, had 14 points but a positive NRR meaning a win would help them to a top-four finish and knock out Bangalore.
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However, MI’s five-wicket win helped RCB extend their season before they lost in the second qualifier to Rajasthan Royals.
Fast forward to IPL 2023 and MI now find themselves in a position where they need a favour from another franchise to get to the playoffs.
Having beaten Sunrisers Hyderabad, MI have taken their points tally to 16 to take the fourth spot but they have a negative run rate.
Should GT beat Royal Challengers Bangalore in what is the final league match before the playoffs, it would ensure MI finish fourth and qualify to the next round.
However, a win for RCB would draw them level on points with MI but since they have a positive NRR, it would push them into the playoffs at the cost of the five-time IPL champions.
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MI captain Rohit Sharma hopes the luck will favour them this time around.
“If we don’t go through, we’ve got ourselves to blame for it. If we go through, I’ll give all the credit to the boys. That’s how it works. Last year, we did a big favour to RCB, I hope we get the result what we are looking for,” Rohit said on Sunday.
Rohit said MI aren’t bothered about what happens in the other game and were focused on doing the job. “We came with that mindset, we wanted to win and not worry about what happens elsewhere. What you can control, you can control and then hope for the best. I haven’t spoken to anyone,” he said.
MI didn’t have the best of the start to the season, losing two matches in a row. However, they weren’t consistent throughout.
“We did a lot of things right as we went along. We didn’t start well and then won three on the trot. The crucial moments in the game that we lost – there were a lot of moments like that,” Rohit said.
“The game against Punjab here where we needed around 34 runs off 18 balls, we could have probably played well. And the last game against LSG, we had the game in our hands after the first half of the innings. We can’t look too much into that. Sometimes it just doesn’t come along,” he added.
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