“We’re not playing our best cricket”: Jayawardene after MI’s 8-wicket…

Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], May 3 (ANI): The Mumbai Indians (MI) suffered yet another defeat in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 on Saturday, going down in their seventh match of the season against arch-rivals Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chepauk.

MI head coach Mahela Jaywardene stated that his players are not playing their best cricket after MI’s eight-wicket defeat against CSK. This is their second defeat against CSK this season. They lost their earlier one at Wankhede Stadium by 103 runs.

Addressing the media during the post-match press conference, Jayawardene said, “I think probably the first 10 overs we were in place, what we wanted on that wicket, we felt it was a sluggish wicket, it would be slightly harder to score runs once the ball gets soft as well, so I think we lost our way. I mean, even at the front, the wickets we gave were a couple of soft ones, and especially we should have been a bit smarter in how we handled that." newsbetting.cv

“But we were definitely placed to get the par score which is 180-190 on this, and losing wickets in crucial times at batsman put us backwards and trying to get there, we were not there and the only way we could have come back into the game was like 2-3 early wickets, create some pressure, we had one, but they were sensible enough, they didn’t have to take any risk, they batted well," he added.

MI posted 159/7 after opting to bat first, powered by Naman Dhir’s 57 and a brisk 37 from Ryan Rickelton. CSK’s bowlers–led by Anshul Kamboj (Three wickets) and Noor Ahmad (Two wickets) — restricted them, especially in the death overs.

In reply, CSK lost Sanju Samson early to Jasprit Bumrah, while Urvil Patel added a quick 24, but it was captain Ruturaj Gaikwad (67*) and Kartik Sharma (54*) who anchored the innings with an unbeaten 98-run partnership to seal the win with 11 balls remaining. The victory took CSK to sixth place on the table with eight points from eight matches. Ruturaj Gaikwad won the Player of the Match award for his captain’s knock.

Talking about whether MI should change their top-order approach, the MI head coach said, “It all depends on different surfaces as well, how you go about it. I mean, you can’t just go out and play, yes the percentage game is there depending on the surfaces that you’re playing, it is favouring, but I think we do have the nucleus, we have the batters who could do the same thing as well, I mean getting 200 runs, 220, it can be achieved, but obviously not on this surface for sure. Depending on that, we just have to play our best cricket, that’s what I said, we’re not playing our best cricket, so then it’s easier to find so many things that are not right. But we need to understand that we do play some good cricket in bits and pieces, but we can’t get a full game. Like in the last game we scored 240, but our bowlers weren’t able to execute, and today batsmen started well, but then we didn’t put runs on the board for our bowlers to have a crack at it, so we’re not playing our best cricket at the moment."

Jasprit Bumrah has taken only three wickets so far this season. With only five matches left for MI this season, it was expected that Bumrah might be rested from the rest of the games, and MI could come up with some other seamer to lead the attack. However, Jayawardene refrained from commenting on any possibility.

“I think it’s too early for me to say anything, I think we’ve still got five more games, I mean anything can happen for us, we just need to finish the tournament positively and see what happens, I mean there’s a lot more cricket to be played, I don’t think mathematically we’re out from the tournament, so I’m going to fight and I’m sure the rest of the boys will do the same as well," Jayawardene concluded. (ANI)

(This content is sourced from a syndicated feed and is published as received. The Tribune assumes no responsibility or liability for its accuracy, completeness, or content.)

SRH Vs KKR Match Prediction: The 19th edition of the Indian Premier League, the world’s most popular franchise cricket league, will be held in 2026. IPL 2026 will feature 10 teams competing for the world’s most prestigious franchise cricket competition trophy.

The Sunrisers Hyderabad are one of only three teams in the IPL to have never won the league, and one of two that have been here for the whole time. The Sunrisers Hyderabad have, for much of their history, been a fodder team in the league, with a few playoff appearances under their belt. However, in 2025, they topped the league and reached the final, where they lost to the Royal Challengers Bengaluru.

The Sunrisers started their IPL 2026 on the wrong foot, losing to the Royal Challengers Bengaluru in their opening game. They then defeated the Kolkata Knight Riders in their second game, before losing a last-ball thriller against the Lucknow Super Giants in their third. Their most recent game ended in a loss to the Punjab Kings. More recently, they defeated the then-unbeaten Rajasthan Royals. They would make it three wins in a row, defeating the Chennai Super Kings and the Delhi Capitals.

They beat the Rajasthan Royals in a high-scoring game before making it five wins in a row with a massive victory over the Mumbai Indians. With six wins, three losses, 12 points, and a positive net run rate, Hyderabad is currently third on the points table.

Meanwhile, the Kolkata Knight Riders are three-time IPL champions. They also won their most recent title quite recently, in 2024. However, since their title-winning season, this team’s strategy has been a bit confusing. The Knight Riders march behind Ajinkya Rahane, a veteran of Indian cricket and the IPL, as they look to win the league a fourth time this year.

The Kolkata Knight Riders have gotten off to a rotten start to their season. In their first game, they were beaten by the Mumbai Indians, before being thrashed by the Sunrisers Hyderabad in their second. After a poor start against the Punjab Kings, the game was washed out. Then came yet another defeat, on the last ball against the Lucknow Super Giants. They also lost their most recent game against the Chennai Super Kings and the Gujarat Titans. KKR then won their first game of the season, defeating the Rajasthan Royals

KKR then won their second game in a row, defeating the Lucknow Super Giants in a thrilling Super Over. With two wins, five losses, one no result, five points, and a negative net run rate, Kolkata is currently eighth on the points table.

SRH Vs KKR Match Prediction Date and Time:

• Dates: Sunday, May 03, 2025
• Time: 03:30 PM (IST)
• Venue: Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, Hyderabad

SRH Vs KKR Live Streaming: How To Watch

The Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Kolkata Knight Riders Match 45 of the IPL 2026 will be broadcast live on the Star Sports Network on TV in India. It will be live-streamed on the JioHotstar app and website on mobiles, laptops, and other streaming devices.

Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Kolkata Knight Riders Prediction T20Is: Head-to-Head

• Matches Played: 31
• Sunrisers Hyderabad Won: 11
• Kolkata Knight Riders Won: 20
• No Result: 00
• First Played: April 14, 2013 (KKR win)
• Last Played: April 02, 2026 (SRH win)

SRH Vs KKR Toss Update

*To be updated after the toss*

SRH Vs KKR Team; Predicted XIs:

Sunrisers Hyderabad Predicted XI:

Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan (wk), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Heinrich Klaasen, Aniket Verma, Salil Arora, Pat Cummins (C), Harsh Dubey, Praful Hinge, Eshan Malinga, Sakib Hussain*

Kolkata Knight Riders Predicted XI:

Tim Seifert, Ajinkya Rahane (C), Angkrush Raghuvanshi (wk), Cameron Green, Rovman Powell, Rinku Singh, Anukul Roy, Ramandeep Singh, Sunil Narine, Kartik Tyagi, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakravarthy*

SRH Vs KKR Match 45 IPL 2026 Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium Pitch Report

While in red-ball cricket, the pitches might appear to favour spin, in white-ball, and especially T20 cricket, the tracks at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium are a batter’s haven. The last IPL season showed how massive scores are within reach here. While there might be some support for the pace bowlers early in the inning, that is doused away as soon as the powerplay is over. The boundaries here are not the shortest. The square boundaries are about 67-69m in length, while the straight boundaries are over 70m away from the batter.

SRH Vs KKR Match 45 Weather Forecast

The weather report for matchday in Hyderabad predicts a warm afternoon. The temperatures will peak over the 40 degreed Celcius mark. While the skies will be clear, the chances of rain are zero. Although there will air will be slightly hazy. The winds will be moderate, while the humidity will be low.

SRH Vs KKR Match 45 IPL 2026 Match Kolkata Knight Riders Prediction: 3 Players To Watch Out For

The 3 players to watch out for in the SRH Vs KKR IPL 2026 Match 45 are:

• Sunrisers Hyderabad batter Travis Head
• Kolkata Knight Riders batter Rinku Singh
• Sunrisers Hyderabad bowler Eshan Malinga

Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Kolkata Knight Riders Prediction: Who will Win Today’s Match 45?

For the SRH Vs KKR IPL 2026 Match 45 Prediction, the Sunrisers Hyderabad will defeat the Kolkata Knight Riders in Match 45 of the Indian Premier League 2026.

Get IPL 2026 Live Score, Team Updates, along with the Latest Player News at IceCric.News and Follow for Live Updates – Facebook & Instagram.

Mumbai Indians (MI) endured their seventh loss of IPL 2026 in Match 44 of the tournament against Chennai Super Kings at the M. A. Chidambaram Stadium on Saturday, May 02. With this defeat, the Hardik Pandya-led team has been nearly ruled out of the race for the playoffs of the marquee T20 tournament, with five league-stage games still remaining.

---

Basic Requirements for Playoff Qualification

The IPL has strictly followed a 10-team format since 2022. Since then, the following trends have been observed:

• 16 points (8 wins): Almost ensured a place in the playoffs.
• 14 points (7 wins): An outside chance to make it to the top four. However, that depends on the NRR as well as how other results pan out (for example, RCB in 2024).
• 12 points (6 wins): Quite rare. Only once has a team with 12 points gone on to compete in the playoffs (SRH in IPL 2019).

---

Remaining Matches for Mumbai Indians

---

Mumbai Indians (MI) IPL 2026 Playoffs: Qualification Scenarios

• Scenario 1: Win all remaining matches

Total Wins: 2 (current) + 5 (remaining) = 7 wins

Total Points: 4 (current) + 10 (remaining) = 14 points

The best-case scenario for Mumbai Indians to give themselves a fair chance to qualify for the IPL 2026 playoffs is to win all of their remaining games in the league stage of the competition. This will ensure that they reach 14 points at the end of the league stage after seven wins, where their net run-rate (NRR) will play a role in determining their positioning on the table and how their tournament shapes further.

---

• Scenario 2: Win four out of five matches

Total Wins: 2 (current) + 4 (remaining) = 6 wins

Total Points: 4 (current) + 8 (remaining) = 12 points

A situation where MI manage to secure wins in only four out of their five remaining matches will trim their chances much further. In such a situation, where MI finish with 12 points on the table, they will have to rely on results of other teams, particularly Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), both of whom have won six matches already. MI will hope that both RR and SRH go on to lose their remaining matches, so that they are tied with these sides at the end of the league stage of the competition.

---

• Scenario 3: Lose more than two matches

Total Wins: 2 (current) + 3 (remaining) = 5 points

Total Points: 4 (current) + 6 (remaining) = 10 points (maximum)

MI cannot afford more than one loss in the competition to stay alive in the race for the playoffs. This is because the top four teams on the current points table already have at least twelve (12) points, which makes it impossible for the Mumbai-based franchise to proceed further in the tournament.

---

Given the scope of different qualification scenarios, it will be extremely interesting to see if MI can pull off a miracle to make it to the top four in the current IPL season.

Gujarat Titans’s home match against Punjab Kings on Sunday will be played on a black soil pitch, where the Mumbai Indians top order had struggled and Tilak Varma’s death over onslaught had given them a respectable total of 199 last month.

However, the PBKS top order is in great form currently and aren’t too worried about the seaming strip at the Narendra Modi Cricket Stadium. “We play a different brand of cricket compared to the others. It’s fearless. We go all out. So, there are certain plans in place,” PBKS assistant bowling coach Trevor Gonsalves said during the pre-match press conference on Saturday.

PBKS assistant bowling coach Trevor Gonsalves

“I had a look at the wicket and yes, we are expecting a little bit of bounce on it,” said Gonsalves, adding that Kiwi pacer Lockie Ferguson was back and would replace Xavier Bartlett in the playing XI. “Lockie’s a big guy, and he was always in our starting line-up. Bartlett was also a little expensive in the last two games.”

Meanwhile, GT’s confidence is high after their win over the Royal Challengers Bengaluru last Thursday. And despite the poor form of their middle order batters, assistant coach Aashish Kapoor revealed that there is not much scope for changes.

“We will see tonight or tomorrow morning what changes need to be made. It’s very easy to make changes, but if that’s the case then teams that are going for 220, 240, and 260 should also be making changes in their bowling for every second game, and if this happens then even 25 players [in a squad] will not be enough,” he said.