JAIPUR: Mumbai Indians opener Ryan Rickelton admitted that their seven-wicket loss to Punjab Kings served as a “wake-up call,” but remained optimistic about the team’s chances heading into the IPL Eliminator.

The defeat in their final league fixture on Monday cost MI a top-two finish and now forces them into the Eliminator, where they’ll face either Gujarat Titans or Sunrisers Hyderabad on Thursday.

“They outplayed us, so it was definitely a bit of a wake-up call,” Rickelton said during the post-match press conference.

Batting first, Mumbai posted a below-par 184/7, a target PBKS chased down comfortably with nine balls remaining.

Rickelton acknowledged that while MI have shown strong form overall, there are still a few areas to improve before the knockout clash.

“It’s not the end of the world. The team is gelling well, but we need to tighten up in a few areas — with the bat, the ball, and in the field,” he said. “We have the talent and depth to win the Eliminator. The boys are focused and ready to work on the key points before Thursday’s match.”

Looking back at the performance against Punjab, the South African felt Mumbai fell short of a competitive total.

“I think we were about 20 runs light. That said, we were fine with batting first. We know that when we post 200-220, we’re usually in a good position because of the strength of our bowling attack,” he noted.

“We’ve defended 200 consistently in the past. It wasn’t the toss or batting first that hurt us — we just lost wickets at crucial stages, which stopped us from getting to that 200-mark we were aiming for.”