New Delhi: If we talk about the best turnaround by a team in the history of IPL, it has to be Royal Challengers Bangalore, who made a historic comeback in the IPL 2024 season. With 1-7 in their first eight matches, RCB stormed into the playoffs in style, winning six games in a row.Mumbai Indians They find themselves in a similar situation in IPL 2026. They are ninth with just two wins in eight games, four points and a net run rate of -0.784.
Can they turn the tide?Former Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin The five-time champions were disappointed with the way they have played this season and said they do not expect the Hardik Pandya-led team to turn things around.“I’m a bit shocked the way Mumbai Indians played in this IPL. I don’t know how it happened. My brain is not processing how this is possible. We can find out why. I pity them. It was my favorite before this tournament. I thought that was the game. Mumbai Indians will be back here. But SRH didn’t give us a chance,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.Asked if Mumbai Indians can win their remaining six matches or if it’s all over for them, Ashwin said: “I hope not. I’ll tell you why I don’t hope for Mumbai. Because look at their trend, they scored 220 against KKR, but no other team has given KKR 220 in this tournament, KKR hasn’t given a big score with Mumbai, and if they don’t make a big score with Mumbai Indians, So he doesn’t do it for the first time. 230-240 he is not able to chase that score. If they are giving 220, it was 208 against Chennai. It could have been a slow wicket. But it was no more than a tie score. They could not chase that score down. So they made some changes in the wicket.“Their batting line-up is struggling. Their bowling attack is struggling. So where’s the answer going to come from? And when they’re away from home, they’re not getting the answers again. So I don’t know,” Ashwin said.Mumbai Indians have had a mixed and largely disappointing campaign in IPL 2026.They started on a positive note, beating Kolkata Knight Riders by six wickets, but consistency eluded them since then. Losses against Delhi Capitals, Rajasthan Royals, and Royal Challengers Bengaluru exposed both batting and bowling concerns.
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Can Mumbai Indians still make a comeback this season?
The struggles continued with defeats to Punjab Kings and a 103-run loss to Chennai Super Kings, which highlighted their inability to compete at crucial moments.Their only other bright spot came in a dominant 99-run win over Gujarat Titans, which showcased the potential in the squad.However, another setback followed as Sunrisers Hyderabad chased down a huge target to beat MI by six wickets.With just two wins from eight matches, Mumbai Indians face a tough task.
