'Just another game' was the refrain of Suryakumar Yadav on the eve of Mumbai Indians' last league match against SunRisers Hyderabad. That should go down as the understatement of IPL 2023.
IPL 2023
Not 'just another game' for Mumbai Indians
A playoffs berth is at stake and the side is in a must-win situation against bottom-placed SRH © IPL
That the Sunday afternoon clash at the Wankhede is much more than just another game for the five-time champions is a given. A playoffs berth is at stake and the side is in a must-win situation. The irony yet is that even a win may not suffice, so complicated is the points table logjam.
Some results need to go their way but the best case scenario for MI is to beat the bottom-placed SRH and wait for the result of the last league game, between RCB and GT, to know their chances of progressing into the last-four stage. A top-two finish, though, has been ruled out.
"It is just another game for us. From outside, yes, it looks like it is a big game, we have to wait for other results, etc but we know what we have been doing here at the Wankhede in the last 4-5 games. We know our strengths and strong areas, we back that and we will focus on those areas only," Surya, MI's batting mainstay, emphasised, trying to underplay the enormity of the situation.
MI's campaign took a beating with the
