By now it is well established that Mumbai Indians have a dubious reputation for poor starts. And that is not just in terms of match outcomes alone. They often begin the games just as poorly. Increasingly, their fortunes are being decided in the first six overs - more often than not, for the worse.
IPL 2025
MI aim to solve PowerPlay problems; RCB aim to go three-in-three on the road
Jasprit Bumrah has missed the first four games for MI this season, so far © Sportzpics
The relevant numbers point to a telling picture. In four games, they lost eight wickets in the first six overs - the second-most among all teams - while managing to take only five wickets in return, also the second-worst. Only Punjab Kings have fared worse in terms of wickets taken during this phase.
Their best six-over phases upfront came against Kolkata Knight Riders - five scalps in first seven overs (four in the first six) and lost only one while batting. That was the only time this season when they won a match. In T20 or white ball parlance, it's the PowerPlay problem.
Mahela Jayawardene agreed that the PowerPlays have been a worry. "We have looked at those numbers as well. When you start the season with a new group of players, we will come across these issues. So, that is something that we will have to address. Agreed on the PowerPlays that we need to take a bit more control. Whenever we have done that, we have done that. That is something we are going to plan and see whether we can improve on that."
That could change with the return of two key players for Monday's game against Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the Wankhede -
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