3 reasons behind Mumbai Indians' poor batting show against CSK in IPL 2026

Chennai Super Kings defeated Mumbai Indians by 103 runs.

The Mumbai Indians (MI) have had a poor campaign in the Indian Premier League 2026 so far. With just two wins from seven matches, the five-time champions have not been able to perform to their full potential.

They lost their recent game to their arch-rivals Chennai Super Kings in a one-sided affair, where their batting order collapsed against the impressive bowling of Akeal Hosein and the other CSK bowlers.

Chasing a total of 208 runs, it was a big task, but not something MI hadn’t done before. MI’s opening batter, Danish Malewar, fell prey in the first over to Akeal Hosein, and then Quinton de Kock was dismissed by Mukesh Choudhary.

After that, the wickets kept falling. There was a phase in the game when Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Verma tried to build a partnership, but Akeal Hosein returned in his second spell and dismissed both batters.On that note, let’s understand why the Mumbai Indians’ batting failed against CSK.

Reasons behind MI’s poor batting against CSK-

1. Failed to execute Powerplay

In modern T20 cricket, the most crucial phase of the game is the powerplay. In the first six overs, batsmen try their best to make the most of the fielding restrictions. While chasing a big target, it becomes crucial to make the most of the Powerplay and score heavily in those six overs.

However, the fall of early wickets put the Mumbai Indians on the back foot, and they could only score 29 runs in the first six overs, losing three key wickets.

2. Poor form of Indian Batters

Before the start of the season, the Mumbai Indians were highly rated, mainly because of the Indian stars present in their lineup.

A team with so many players representing the national side has failed to show their full potential this season. Indian T20I Team captain Suryakumar Yadav is also not at his best in this IPL, and other domestic batters have also been out of form.

3. Reliance on high-risk cricket more than timing

Even though the dynamics of the current T20 game have changed, shots played with proper timing are still valuable in this format. In an attempt to play high-risk cricket, players often lose their wickets cheaply, which costs the team in the long run.

While chasing a big target, especially after losing the first few wickets, MI batsmen had to play sensibly and not succumb to the pressure of the required run rate. They needed to build partnerships and take the game deep rather than going for reckless shots early on.

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