Win or perish

Desperate Mumbai Indians might have already made a passionate plea to destiny so that the outcomes are favourable when they step in for their 12th game of the season on Monday.

Eight losses in 11 matches have not only vindicated how Mumbai incurred their own suffering through leadership change, but they have also missed the opportunity to make it up with better on-field showing.

Tilak Varma's exploits with the willow, notwithstanding, MI's campaign hangs precariously on the brink of collapse, jeopardising their chances of amassing enough victories to realistically contend for a spot in the IPL playoffs.

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This is a situation the five-time winners have brought upon themselves, playing some insipid cricket across the first leg of this IPL. They had a splendid chance against too many teams to score that valuable six points that would have put them on par with others, but a couple of ordinary overs in the powerplay and towards the end have spoiled their ambitions.

"For the pride and the reputation, because sometimes when you enter on the field, you don't think whether you are going to qualify or you are not going to qualify. You have to play for your name and that's what we are playing for," leg-spinner Piyush Chawla was quoted as saying after skipper Pandya once again walked out to loud boos on Friday as they lost to KKR by 24 runs.

"You must have often heard that T20 is all about momentum and just that we didn't get that momentum going this season and it can happen to any team. It's not like it's happening to us for the first time or any other team for the second time. It can happen to anyone and it's just that that momentum was not our way," he added.

True that. It is only ‘pride' that Mumbai are left with to play for.

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They may have been called a bowling superpower in the recent past, but going by their last four matches, Mumbai seems to be lacking the variety or strength in their bowling to exploit the chinks in the opposition's batting.

Right-arm pacer Jasprit Bumrah leads the wicket-takers chart this season with 17 wickets but even that is an inflated picture as he hasn't been able to make any real impact on the proceedings. Truth be told, in MI's case, whose bowling has appeared lacklustre from the outset, Bumrah's scalps have neither provided any respite nor assurance. And there is every reason to blame the team management and Pandya. The reluctance to handle the new ball to Bumrah or even play him in the crucial overs has somewhat been perplexing. Besides Bumrah, the modest form of experienced bowlers has hurt them as Chawla himself has leaked more runs than usual this season.

Despite the slim chances of advancing, the focus remains on key players such as Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, and Pandya, who are set to be instrumental figures in India's T20 World Cup campaign. While Sharma's aggressive approach has yet to yield significant results, Yadav seeks consistency after his recent half-century performance.

But Pandya will be subject to scrutiny once more.

Come Monday, he will be eager to rectify and put an end to the reproval besieging him since the inception of this IPL.