After the Mumbai Indians’ lopsided defeat to the Chennai Super Kings, legendary cricketer Sunil Gavaskar expressed concern about the team’s patchy performance in the current IPL 2026, cautioning that the five-time champions must win all of their remaining games to maintain their chances of making the playoffs.
Sanju Samson’s century and Akeal Hosein’s four-for helped the Super Kings defeat their bitter rivals Mumbai by a massive 103 runs.
At the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Thursday, Samson scored his second century of the IPL 2026 with an undefeated 101 off 54 balls, including 10 fours and six sixes. This helped CSK set a lofty goal of 208 runs for MI.
Hosein responded with a four-wicket haul (4/17), and MI was swept out for 104, losing the one-sided match. Noor Ahmad, Mukesh Choudhary, Jamie Overton, Anshul Kamboj, and Gurjapneet Singh all contributed.
Speaking on Star Sports prior to MI’s match against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on Wednesday, JioStar analyst Gavaskar emphasized MI’s season-long volatility and cited their most recent batting meltdown against CSK.
“MI now need to win every game from here, and they have the capability to do that. It’s just about things clicking for them,” Gavaskar said.
Alluding to their batting failure from the last game, he continued, “The recent loss, especially getting bowled out for 100-odd against CSK, was disappointing. Such heavy defeats can hurt them later, particularly in a tight race for the fourth playoff spot.”
On Wednesday night, MI will host SRH, who have won four straight games, in an attempt to recover. The legendary Wankhede Stadium will host the high-stakes match.
