Mumbai Indians faced Chennai Super Kings in their ninth match of IPL 2026 on Saturday (May 2) and suffered a humiliating defeat by 8 wickets. In the fixture played at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, Mumbai Indians could only manage to post a total of 159 runs for the loss of 7 wickets in 20 overs after Hardik Pandya won the toss and opted to bat first and then failed to defend the 160-run target. For the hosts, captain Ruturaj Gaikwad (67*) and Kartik Sharma (54*) scored a half-centuries.
The defeat against Chennai Super Kings on Saturday was MI’s seventh loss of the ongoing season, and their chances of finishing in the top four and qualifying for the playoffs are all but over. It will be a miracle if Mumbai Indians finish in the top four and qualify for the play-offs.
Even if MI manage to win all five of their remaining matches in IPL 2026, they will finish the league stage with 14 points, and 14 points might not be enough to qualify for the playoffs.
In the last four seasons of the IPL (since it became a 10-team tournament), only once has a team that finished the league stage with 14 points managed to finish in the top four (RCB in 2014).
Mumbai Indians will qualify for the IPL 2026 playoffs by finishing in the top four if they manage to win all five of their remaining matches and not more than three teams finish the league stage with 14 points.
MI’s upcoming matches
Mumbai Indians will face Rishabh Pant-led Lucknow Super Giants in their 10th match of the ongoing IPL 2026 season on Monday, May 4, at Wankhede Stadium. If the Mumbai Indians lose that fixture, then they will officially become the first team to get knocked out of the IPL 2026 playoffs race.
MI’s 11th match is scheduled against defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru at Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium in Raipur on May 10. RCB have already defeated Mumbai Indians once in this year’s IPL (MI lost by 18 runs on April 12 at Wankhede Stadium).
| DATE | DAY | AGAINST | VENUE | START TIME (IST) |
| May 4 | Monday | Lucknow Super Giants | Mumbai (WS) | 07:30 PM |
| May 10 | Sunday | Royal Challengers Bengaluru | Raipur | 07:30 PM |
| May 14 | Thursday | Punjab Kings | Dharamsala | 07:30 PM |
| May 20 | Wednesday | Kolkata Knight Riders | Kolkata | 07:30 PM |
| May 24 | Sunday | Rajasthan Royals | Mumbai (WS) | 03:30 PM |
In their final three matches of IPL 2026, Mumbai Indians will face Punjab Kings at HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala on May 14, Kolkata Knight Riders at Eden Gardens on May 20 and Rajasthan Royals in Mumbai on May 24.
