Mumbai Indians bring back rare 11-year-old strategy in final league match vs Rajasthan Royals

Mumbai Mumbai Indians tried a different tactical approach in their final league-stage match against Rajasthan Royals at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Saturday, with Hardik Pandya introducing as many as three overs of spin inside the Powerplay.

It marked only the second instance in IPL 2026 where MI opted for this unusual strategy of using three spin overs in the first six overs.



Will Jacks was introduced as early as the second over and was brought back again in the fourth, before Allah Ghazanfar was handed the sixth over as MI doubled down on spin through the Powerplay phase.

Interestingly, Mumbai Indians had deployed a similar approach earlier in the season against Lucknow Super Giants on May 4.

This was also the first time in 11 years of MI’s IPL history that they have used three overs of spin in the Powerplay, underlining a rare tactical shift at the Wankhede.

MI’s rare Powerplay spin usage in IPL history

MI have bowled three or more overs of spin in the Powerplay on only a handful of occasions:

• vs PWI, 2012
• vs PWI, 2013
• vs DC, 2014
• vs CSK, 2015
• vs LSG, 2026
• vs RR, 2026

Overall, this was MI’s 18th such instance in IPL history of using three or more spin overs in the first six overs, and only the second in the Impact Player era.

Five-time champions, but mixed recent fortunes

Mumbai Indians remain one of the most successful franchises in IPL history, having won five titles in 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2020 — all under the leadership of Rohit Sharma.


However, their IPL 2026 campaign has been inconsistent, with several close losses impacting their momentum.

• MI IPL 2026 season:
• Matches: 13
• Wins: 4
• Losses: 9
• Points: 8
• Net Run Rate: -0.510

• Mumbai Indians in IPL 2026
• vs KKR (Mar 29): Won by 6 wkts
• vs DC (Apr 04): Lost by 6 wkts
• vs RR (Apr 07): Lost by 27 runs
• vs RCB (Apr 12): Lost by 18 runs
• vs PBKS (Apr 16): Lost by 7 wkts
• vs GT (Apr 20): Won by 99 runs
• vs CSK (Apr 23): Lost by 103 runs
• vs SRH (Apr 29): Lost by 6 wkts
• vs CSK (May 02): Lost by 8 wkts
• vs LSG (May 04): Won by 6 wkts
• vs RCB (May 10): Lost by 2 wkts
• vs PBKS (May 14): Won by 6 wkts
• vs KKR (May 20): Lost by 4 wkts

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