New Delhi: After a run of six consecutive wins, Mumbai were well placed to advance to the IP 2025 play-offs, head coach Mahela Jayawardene said on Tuesday.
Mumbai are fourth in the standings with 14 points from 12 matches and need a win against Delhi Capitals on Wednesday to book their spot in the top four, with Gujarat Titans, Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Punjab Kings already confirmed of being the other three teams.
If they get beaten, then they have to depend on the outcome of Delhi’s match against Punjab Kings on May 24.
“We were always in contention for play-offs after we had that run. For us, it’s good to start the tournament (again) and play cricket, the guys have been waiting for this, training has been pretty good and just take one game at a time,” Jayawardene said.
“It’s in our control, it’s a great position to be here. The message from me for the boys was to make sure that we go through our routines, our processes, the way we train, the way we plan, and the way we’ve gone about this tournament.
“It’s better to have it in our control than anyone else’s and watch that situation, so we’ve played good cricket to deserve to be in that situation, and we’ll go out and try and play our best game of cricket tomorrow,” he added.
Mumbai are under no added pressure in their must-win game against Delhi as they have faced similar situations earlier in the competition, Jayawardene said.
“We were in that situation when we were 4-1 after five matches. For us, every game was a must-win from that situation (and) the boys reacted pretty well,” he said.
“(Even) the last game (against GT), we gave ourselves a great opportunity. We fought really well after the mistakes we’ve done, so cricket-wise, I’m not worried. The brand of cricket that we’re playing, reacting to situations.”
Mumbai Indians are fourth in the IPL 2025 standings with 14 points from 12 matches and need a win against Delhi Capitals on Wednesday to book their spot in the top four Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
