Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings continue horror campaign in IPL 2022, heavyweights yet to secure first points

IPL 2022: Chennai Super Kings are off to their worst start in an IPL season while 5-time champions Mumbai Indians have looked listless so far in their campaign. Both teams have now lost their first three matches of the ongoing season.

Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings have won 9 IPL titles between them. In IPL 2022, two of the most successful sides in the tournament's history, have lost their first three matches and now find themselves in the bottom of the points table with Sunrisers Hyderabad for company.

This is a shocking start to the tournament for Mumbai Indians, the most successful side in the history of the IPL and Chennai Super Kings, the defdending champions. Sunrisers Hyderabad, who have had a horror run for the last few seasons, are the only other team besides MI and CSK yet to secure their first points of the season.

This is the first time ever that CSK have lost their first three matches of any IPL edition. Mumbai Indians are not new to the tag of slow starters but this is a 10-team tournament and there is very little margin for error. As it stands now, CSK are 8th in the points table with MI at 9th. SRH, who are last, can upstage both MI and CSK if they win their next match.

On Wednesday, Mumbai Indians looked in control against Kolkata Knight Riders, a team they have dominated for years in the IPL. Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma steadied the MI innings after they were in a huge spot of bother at 55 for 3 in 11 overs before Kieron Pollard smashed 3 sixes off Pat Cummins to give MI a scored their bowlers could work with.

And it seemed to work. The dangermen in the KKR batting line-up - Shreyas Iyer, Sam Billings and Andre Russell were back in the hut without causing any damage. Venkatesh Iyer found a way to score a gritty fifty but the game was still in the balance when Pat Cummins walked in. The Australian Test captain had landed from Pakistan a few days earlier and was eligible to play after April 6 - he immediately joined the party and hit the joint-fastest IPL fifty.

Rohit Sharma, the Mumbai Indians skipper, was in shock. Speaking to the host broadcasters after the match, Rohit admitted he did not expect Pat Cummins to play like that. But it was over in a flash and MI now have to pick pace before the other teams outpace them and a berth in the playoffs starts to become a distant dream.

In their first match of IPL 2022, MI at least had the luxury of half-centuries from Ishan Kishan and Rohit Sharma. Yes, they could not defend 177 against Delhi Capitals but the 5-time IPL champions must have taken some positives home. Against Punjab Kings, as they sought to chase down 194, crucial knocks from Ishan Kishan and the rookie Tilak Varma kept them in the hunt, but MI still could not close it down and lost yet again.