Sunrisers Hyderabad and Punjab Kings played out a brutal powerplay contest on Saturday, with SRH posting 105 without loss in the opening six overs and PBKS replying with 93 without loss.
Key takeaways
- SRH’s powerplay of 105/0 and PBKS’s 93/0 set up a chase that depended heavily on the middle and death overs.
- The wider IPL 2026 trend shows powerplay scoring above 10 runs per over, with a run rate of 10.47 so far.
- On Sunday night at Wankhede Stadium, RCB reached 240/4 thanks to Phil Salt, Rajat Patidar and Tim David all striking at more than two runs per ball.
- Since the start of IPL 2025, teams have managed 70-plus in the powerplay 37 times, but MI have done it only twice.
- MI’s current struggles are framed against their 2020 title-winning blueprint, even though several 2020-era figures still remain in the squad.
Why the powerplay matters more in 2026
While the game ultimately came down to what both sides managed in the remaining 14 overs, it was still hard to see Punjab completing a chase of 220 unless they had matched SRH early on. Their 93 without loss in the first six overs brought them into the conversation, even if the rest of the innings didn’t give them the same platform.
The broader context is that the IPL in 2026 is producing faster starts than ever before. For the first time in the competition’s history, the average scoring rate in the first six overs has gone beyond 10 an over. At the moment, the overall powerplay run rate in IPL 2026 stands at 10.47—almost one run per over better than IPL 2025’s figure of 9.59.
That brings the focus to Sunday’s contest at Wankhede Stadium, where Royal Challengers Bengaluru amassed 240 for 4. Phil Salt, Rajat Patidar and Tim David drove the scoring at well above two runs per ball, handing RCB a platform that looked imposing for whoever was chasing.
If Mumbai Indians were to even threaten that target, they would have needed a truly punishing opening burst. Their powerplay wasn’t poor in isolation, but 62 without loss—compounded by Rohit Sharma retiring hurt—was not enough on the day. By the time the seventh over started, Mumbai required close to 13 runs an over.
That powerplay story also captures a more worrying theme for MI.
Since the start of IPL 2025, teams have reached 70-plus runs in the powerplay on 37 occasions, including RCB’s 71 without loss on Sunday. Mumbai have managed that milestone only twice.
Over the last season and a bit, the pattern shows a clear split: five teams account for 31 of the 37 powerplay scores of 70 or more, while the other five franchises have combined for just six such powerplay totals.
MI’s continuity, and what may be missing
That MI find themselves among the lowest five teams in this powerplay category is only one part of what looks like a larger issue. In their most successful years, Mumbai were the ones shaping the league. When they lifted the title in 2020, it came with a squad that seemed built for the modern T20 game.
Back then, MI had what was viewed as the tournament’s leading powerplay bowler and also the best death-overs specialist, who was able to contribute in multiple roles. They also had six-hitters lower down the order, and their finishing group—Kieron Pollard along with the Pandya brothers—was widely seen as the most rounded set of finishers in the league. That season, MI struck 137 sixes, 32 more than the next-best side.
Move forward to 2026 and many of those 2020-era names remain in Mumbai’s group. The “big four” Indian stars—Rohit, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah—are still present. Trent Boult is also still around and continues to be a regular, with him now at 36. Quinton de Kock remains in the mix too, and would be a starter if Ryan Rickelton—who is described as being uncannily similar—wasn’t batting ahead of him.
Rickelton is 29, while Jasprit Bumrah, the youngest of the earlier list, is 32.
In sport, it’s common for highly successful groups to stay together for a long time, and in the IPL that approach has often worked. Mumbai understand this, and so do Chennai Super Kings, who won three of their six titles—2018, 2021 and 2023—with a side that had been widely dismissed as “Dad’s Army”.
However, the IPL has changed since CSK’s last championship. Scoring rates have surged due to the nature of the pitches, the introduction of the Impact Player, and the way young homegrown batters now arrive prepared to attack with six-hitting confidence even against international-calibre bowling.
With those shifts, experience may not carry the same advantage it once did.
In Mumbai’s case, continuity appears to have come with a cost. Look back to the build-up to the previous mega auction, before IPL 2025, particularly at MI’s retentions. Letting go of Rohit, Suryakumar, Hardik and Bumrah would have been extremely difficult—possibly impossible. Keeping Tilak Varma also made sense, given he was seen as one of India’s brightest young batting prospects.
Still, you can’t keep everyone. The reference points here are the “big players not retained” names: David and Ishan Kishan.
Ishan Kishan was 26 then, a relentless boundary-hitter when he was in rhythm in the top order. He also kept wicket and had played all three formats for India. Even if his run hadn’t been perfect, there was never any doubt about his ability.
David had spent three seasons with Mumbai and looked like the natural successor to Pollard, viewed as potentially the world’s most dangerous finisher.
Both eventually moved on. Kishan is now the interim captain at SRH and was an important figure in India’s victorious T20 World Cup campaign earlier this year. David is at RCB and has, since switching teams, nearly been beyond debate as the IPL’s most dangerous death-overs batter.
Looking at batting strike rates since the 2025 season, among all IPL batters who have made at least 100 runs in this phase, only Marcus Stoinis (286.84) has a better strike rate than David’s 235.41.
Seven batters who reached the same 100-run threshold have produced 200-plus strike rates in the death overs during this period, and none of them play for MI. Mumbai have three batters sitting just outside that group: Naman Dhir (196.84), Hardik (189.39) and Sherfane Rutherford (183.95).
The pattern doesn’t stop at the death overs. Among batters with at least 200 runs in the IPL since 2025, Mumbai’s quickest-scoring batter, Naman Dhir, has struck at 176.7.
Dhir also doesn’t face a huge volume of deliveries, with his highest score in this period being 48. For MI batters who have posted at least one fifty in the IPL in this phase, Suryakumar Yadav (165.92) has been the quickest scorer. By comparison, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Abhishek Sharma and Priyansh Arya have all hit at 190-plus, while also scoring a century and three fifties each.
Individually, MI’s core four still look formidable. Since retiring from T20I cricket, Rohit has improved numbers that had been inconsistent in the IPL. Hardik remains among the world’s best allrounders, even if his value doesn’t always show as clearly when the Impact Player is part of the equation. Bumrah is Bumrah, and while Suryakumar’s strike rate and scoring areas no longer stand out as they once did, many teams would still want a No. 3 or No. 4 who has been striking at 160-plus and averaging above 50 since the start of 2025.
Around those names, though, MI haven’t truly added established players or uncovered young talent that fits a more futuristic style of T20. In effect, they have stood still while other IPL teams have moved past them—especially in batting.
Even if that sounds bleak, it’s worth remembering that the season is only four games old. MI are experienced at responding to poor starts, and there is still a realistic chance they can fight their way into the playoffs this year. If they do make it, though, they may have some challenging discussions about how they plan for the longer term.
