Mumbai Indians head coach Mahela Jayawardene believes the franchise\u2019s struggles in IPL 2026 are driven by the group rather than any single player. Under Hardik Pandya\u2019s leadership, MI suffered their fourth consecutive defeat of the season on Thursday, losing to Punjab Kings by seven wickets. The loss came after a bright start for the five-time champions, who began their campaign with a six-wicket win over Kolkata Knight Riders, before going down to Delhi Capitals, Rajasthan Royals, Royal Challengers Bengaluru and now Punjab Kings.<\/p>\n
Speaking at the post-match press conference, Jayawardene placed the responsibility for the current dip in form across the entire setup. He said the coaching staff and the management, including himself, must take ownership for the results and focus on how to get the team back to its best. \u201cWhen we are not doing well, it\u2019s on every one of us. It\u2019s not an individual. It\u2019s pretty much on me, everyone who is involved in the management and all that, to see how we can be better,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The Sri Lanka great also acknowledged that MI have shown moments of good cricket, but argued that opponents have been sharper and more assured in the crucial phases. In his view, the team needs to tighten up in key stretches of the match and respond collectively as a franchise and management group to rebuild momentum, regain confidence, and start collecting wins again. \u201cI know we are playing good cricket. We are not being taken out completely, but at the same time the other teams are much better and more clinical. Obviously, the confidence is high as well when they have that kind of start, so we just need to control the phases that we can control. I think it\u2019s not just on one individual. As a franchise, as a team management group, we need to do things better to get into some rhythm and then get a few wins under our belt that will give us that confidence,\u201d Jayawardene added.<\/p>\n
Jayawardene also provided an update on Rohit Sharma, who missed the PBKS match after picking up a hamstring problem during the RCB encounter earlier in the campaign. He said Rohit has begun running and is being assessed on a daily basis. The coach stressed the issue is not considered serious, but MI will not rush his return since the season is still at an early stage. \u201cHe started running yesterday; we\u2019ll take it day to day to see how he feels. He knows his body better than anybody else, so it\u2019s nothing serious. But at the same time, we don\u2019t want to push him as it\u2019s still early in the season,\u201d Jayawardene said.<\/p>\n
Punjab Kings, meanwhile, extended their strong run in IPL 2026 with a dominant seven-wicket success over Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium. The win propelled PBKS to the top of the points table, where they moved ahead with four victories and one no-result, surpassing defending champions RCB in the process. MI, in contrast, slipped to ninth place after managing only one win from their first five matches.<\/p>\n
MI set the tone with the bat, posting 195\/6. Quinton de Kock struck a commanding 112 not out off 60 balls, and he combined with Naman Dhir for a pivotal 122-run partnership. Dhir added momentum with a quickfire 50, helping Mumbai reach a competitive total. For PBKS, Arshdeep Singh was the standout, finishing with figures of 3\/22.<\/p>\n
Chasing 196, Punjab Kings reached the target with ease in 16.3 overs, finishing on 198\/3. Prabhsimran Singh led the charge, remaining unbeaten on 80 off 39 deliveries, while captain Shreyas Iyer played a composed innings of 66 off 35 balls. The two built a crucial stand after early setbacks, turning the chase firmly in PBKS\u2019s favour. For MI, Allah Ghazanfar claimed 2\/32, but overall the bowling effort struggled to apply pressure, as Punjab Kings controlled the run-chase from there.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Mumbai Indians head coach Mahela Jayawardene believes the franchise\u2019s struggles in IPL 2026 are driven by the group rather than any single player. Under Hardik…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":3286,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_title":"Mahela Jayawardene on MI IPL Struggles After Punjab Loss","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"Mahela Jayawardene breaks down why Mumbai Indians are struggling in IPL 2026 after their seven-wicket loss to Punjab Kings.","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3287","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ipl"],"yoast_head":"\n