Mumbai Indians head coach Lisa Keightley admitted that the defending champions never found consistency, and a poor start affected their campaign in the Women’s Premier League (WPL). 

MI suffered an 11-run defeat against the Gujarat Giants at BCA Stadium on Friday. The loss defeat further dented the Mumbai Indians’ chances of qualifying for the playoffs.

“We definitely struggled early to get going. Injuries and sicknesses to key players made things tough, and we had to adjust combinations more than we wanted. We could not build the partnerships needed to gain momentum, which put us under pressure straight away. Losing matches early in the tournament was not ideal.” Keightley said to the media after the loss.

Mumbai’s difficulties began even before the opening match when all-rounder Hayley Matthews sustained a quad niggle during a practice game after arriving in India. Keightley admitted that her absence for the opening matches forced the team to abandon its planned opening combination and go for a makeshift one, which continued throughout the season.

“We were very clear on what our lineup looked like going into the tournament. When Hayley was unavailable for the first few games, we had to work out new combinations. Replacing a world-class opening batter is never easy.” Keightley said.

After experimenting with several opening pairs from the start, Mumbai eventually backed S Sajana to partner with Matthews at the top of the order. Keightley praised the Indian all-rounder for adapting to a new role under pressure.

“We feel Sajana and Hayley are our best options at the top. She started the tournament very well in a different role and then had to make adjustments for the team. Facing world-class bowlers is never easy, but she prepared well and put the team first,” she said.

The head coach also focused on what went wrong for the team against the Giants. She felt that the two overs in which they conceded 36 runs were the turning point.

“The two overs after their time-out were a big shift. We had things under control until then, but that phase changed the game,” she said.

Keightley credited the opposition for handling the key moments better in the second innings when Harmanpreet Kaur was playing a brilliant knock. “They bowled really well and were simply better than us when it mattered,” she said.

Mumbai Indians finished the league stage with three wins and five defeats and sit third on the points table due to a superior net run rate of plus 0.059.

For the first time in four WPL seasons, their qualification fate is now dependent on the result of another match, with a bottom-placed clash between Delhi Capitals and UP Warriorz on Sunday set to decide their progress.