The two most decorated teams of the Indian Premier League are currently in the middle of one of their worst ever slumps. And there seems to be no light at the end of the tunnel.
Five-time champions Mumbai Indians have lost their first six matches. Title holders Chennai have won just once.
Mumbai captain Rohit Sharma has lifted the IPL trophy six times - once as member of the now defunct Deccan Chargers franchise. It was his IPL record, plus winning touch in multi-team tournaments, that landed him India's captaincy across formats.
Equally illustrious has been the record of Chennai, who have reached the IPL final nine times. MS Dhoni had been their leader throughout, and was expected to do so this time as well. But days before the first match of the new season, Dhoni handed over the captaincy to Ravindra Jadeja.
The writing was pretty much on the wall for Mumbai during the auction earlier in the year as they invested in an unfit Jofra Archer - possibly with an eye on 2023 - which meant their attack was pretty much Jasprit Bumrah and nothing much else. The poor batting form of Rohit and record acquisition Ishan Kishan has hurt them even more.
Chennai have issues of their own, with Dhoni still seeming to be in charge with Jadeja regularly stationed at the boundary during the closing stages of matches. They. too, pretty much put all their bowling eggs in one basket - Deepak Chahar - who has been ruled out of the tournament.
So is this the end of the road already for Mumbai and Chennai?
Format
This edition of IPL has 10 teams. However, the organisers have capped the number of matches each franchise plays to 14 - same as last year when eight teams were in operation.
It means both Mumbai and Chennai have eight games remaining in the league phase. The top four teams at the end of the opening stage qualify for the play-offs, with net run rate the deciding factor in case teams are tied on points.
How many points for qualification?
Last season, Kolkata Knight Riders qualified for the play-offs with 14 points. In 2019, Sunrisers Hyderabad qualified with just 12 in one of the most closely contested tournaments in IPL history. But with two more teams this year, the cut-off point is likely to be higher.
In 2011, when there were 10 teams playing 14 games, Kolkata made the cut with eight wins and 16 points.
Scenarios
Mumbai Indians first need to win their next eight games. It is a truly daunting task as they look well short in the batting and bowling department. Apart from the points, they also need to worry about their net run rate, which is an abysmal -1.048 - easily the worst in the tournament. Which is why most have already ruled Mumbai out of contention as they also need teams above them to underperform.
Chennai, on the other hand, are in a slightly better position as they have won one game and have experienced players in key positions. They had a golden chance to win their previous game - against Gujarat Titans - but a horror last over from Chris Jordan saw them fail to defend 13. So they have a slightly better mathematical chance for qualification that Mumbai; somehow win seven out of eight games and hope other results go their way.
Remaining fixtures
Another way to earn air miles
In addition to the Emirates and Etihad programmes, there is the Air Miles Middle East card, which offers members the ability to choose any airline, has no black-out dates and no restrictions on seat availability. Air Miles is linked up to HSBC credit cards and can also be earned through retail partners such as Spinneys, Sharaf DG and The Toy Store.
An Emirates Dubai-London round-trip ticket costs 180,000 miles on the Air Miles website. But customers earn these ‘miles’ at a much faster rate than airline miles. Adidas offers two air miles per Dh1 spent. Air Miles has partnerships with websites as well, so booking.com and agoda.com offer three miles per Dh1 spent.
“If you use your HSBC credit card when shopping at our partners, you are able to earn Air Miles twice which will mean you can get that flight reward faster and for less spend,” says Paul Lacey, the managing director for Europe, Middle East and India for Aimia, which owns and operates Air Miles Middle East.
The specs: 2019 Mercedes-Benz GLE
Price, base / as tested Dh274,000 (estimate)
Engine 3.0-litre inline six-cylinder
Gearbox Nine-speed automatic
Power 245hp @ 4,200rpm
Torque 500Nm @ 1,600rpm
Fuel economy, combined 6.4L / 100km
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Film: Raid
Dir: Rajkumar Gupta
Starring: Ajay Devgn, Ileana D'cruz and Saurabh Shukla
Verdict: Three stars
What are the main cyber security threats?
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Infiniti QX80 specs
Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6
Power: 450hp
Torque: 700Nm
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8 traditional Jamaican dishes to try at Kingston 21
- Trench Town Rock: Jamaican-style curry goat served in a pastry basket with a carrot and potato garnish
- Rock Steady Jerk Chicken: chicken marinated for 24 hours and slow-cooked on the grill
- Mento Oxtail: flavoured oxtail stewed for five hours with herbs
- Ackee and salt fish: the national dish of Jamaica makes for a hearty breakfast
- Jamaican porridge: another breakfast favourite, can be made with peanut, cornmeal, banana and plantain
- Jamaican beef patty: a pastry with ground beef filling
- Hellshire Pon di Beach: Fresh fish with pickles
- Out of Many: traditional sweet potato pudding
Lexus LX700h specs
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Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
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Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
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Prop idols
Girls full-contact rugby may be in its infancy in the Middle East, but there are already a number of role models for players to look up to.
Sophie Shams (Dubai Exiles mini, England sevens international)
An Emirati student who is blazing a trail in rugby. She first learnt the game at Dubai Exiles and captained her JESS Primary school team. After going to study geophysics at university in the UK, she scored a sensational try in a cup final at Twickenham. She has played for England sevens, and is now contracted to top Premiership club Saracens.
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Seren Gough-Walters (Sharjah Wanderers mini, Wales rugby league international)
Few players anywhere will have taken a more circuitous route to playing rugby on Sky Sports. Gough-Walters was born in Al Wasl Hospital in Dubai, raised in Sharjah, did not take up rugby seriously till she was 15, has a master’s in global governance and ethics, and once worked as an immigration officer at the British Embassy in Abu Dhabi. In the summer of 2021 she played for Wales against England in rugby league, in a match that was broadcast live on TV.
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Erin King (Dubai Hurricanes mini, Ireland sevens international)
Aged five, Australia-born King went to Dubai Hurricanes training at The Sevens with her brothers. She immediately struck up a deep affection for rugby. She returned to the city at the end of last year to play at the Dubai Rugby Sevens in the colours of Ireland in the Women’s World Series tournament on Pitch 1.
Match info
Australia 580
Pakistan 240 and 335
Result: Australia win by an innings and five runs
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