Mumbai Indians coach Lisa Keightley admits powerplay batting struggles are costing the team victories.
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Lisa Keightley Critiques
Is it possible for a championship defense to evaporate in just six overs? For the Mumbai Indians, the first block of the innings has transformed from a launchpad into a minefield.
Following a stinging defeat to the Delhi Capitals, head coach Lisa Keightley didn’t search for excuses. She pointed directly at the scoreboard’s most glaring vacancy: the power-play runs.
The Powerplay Paralysis
The numbers tell a story of a team in a tailspin. After a shaky start to the season, MI appeared to find their footing, only to plummet into a three-game losing streak against UP Warriorz and Delhi Capitals.
The common denominator? An opening partnership that refuses to “click.” Against DC, MI found themselves reeling at 21/2 after just 4.1 overs.
Lisa Keightley was blunt in her assessment: “In the powerplay with the bat, we have not clicked.” This failure isn’t just about missing out on quick runs; it’s about the structural damage it causes.
When the openers vanish before the field spreads, the middle order is forced into a “rebuild” mode rather than an “attack” mode. This tactical bottleneck left MI at least 25-30 runs short of a competitive total on Tuesday.
The Injury Carousel
MI’s struggles are rooted in a medical room that is becoming uncomfortably crowded.
Hayley Matthews, the team’s usual engine, entered the tournament nursing a quadricep injury. Her subsequent return has been a shadow of her usual self, with scores of 22, 13, and 12.
The attempts to plug this hole have been costly:
- Amelia Kerr and G Kamalini were tried at the top but failed to provide the necessary spark.
- Sajeevan Sajana was promoted in the last two games as a “desperation” move to find a combination that works.
- G Kamalini’s confidence has cratered, and a new shoulder injury has now ruled her out of the competition entirely.
The Pressure of the “Slow Start”
When a team is “always behind where we would want to be,” as Keightley puts it, the game becomes a frantic chase against the clock.
Against DC, Nat Sciver-Brunt (65*) and Harmanpreet Kaur (41) stitched together a heroic 78-run stand. Under normal circumstances, this would be a winning platform. But because they started from a deficit, their 154/5 felt fragile.
This pressure bled into the bowling. Despite a lineup featuring Shabnim Ismail and Nicola Carey, MI couldn’t contain the powerful duo of Shafali Verma and Lizelle Lee. The “dew factor” made the ball slippery, but the lack of scoreboard pressure gave the DC batters the freedom to exploit every mistimed delivery.
Rethinking the Build
Most observers are calling for the middle order to “show more intent.”
This is flawed logic. You cannot ask a pilot to perform aerobatics while the engines are sputtering. The middle order is currently playing “rescue cricket,” which is inherently slower.
Instead of forcing the middle order to take higher risks, MI must address the “loss of confidence” in their domestic top-order options.
The decision to drop Amelia Kerr for Vaishnavi Sharma—based on the theory that left-arm spin would combat the dew—backfired. It stripped the batting of a world-class anchor and didn’t provide the bowling breakthrough required.
The Verdict
The Mumbai Indians are second on the table thanks to a superior net-run-rate, but they are playing like a team looking for an identity. With Nicola Carey now nursing a “niggle” and Kamalini out, Keightley’s squad is stretched thin.
Unless they can find a way to survive the first six overs without losing the core of their lineup, their title defense may end not with a bang, but with a series of quiet powerplays.