Mumbai Indians (MI) skipper Rohit Sharma called the IPL playoffs a "small little tournament" after his team ensured a top-two finish in the points table with a thumping nine-wicket victory over Delhi Capitals (DC) on Saturday (October 31).

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Before playing Qualifier 1 on Thursday (November 5), the defending champions will take on Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in their last league fixture on Tuesday (November 3) in Sharjah.

"Now that we know we have qualified, it's a good achievement. All the hard work that we did before we came here and also when we came here, it all paid off.

"So, one hurdle which is being crossed, another small little tournament to play for us and before that we still got one more game against SRH (Sunrisers Hyderabad)," Rohit said in a video posted on MI's official Twitter page.

Rohit hasn’t featured in MI’s last four games as he is recovering from a left-leg hamstring injury. The 33-year-old is unlikely to appear in their last game against SRH as well.

"It is going to be another important game for us, we don't want to think about the opposition to be honest. We just want to come out here and play and keep that momentum going. It is important when we play the play-offs," he said.

MI's Director of Cricket Operations and former India pacer Zaheer Khan said they know how to approach the playoffs having made it to the last-four stage many times in the past.

"Like last year, I think the play-offs is your time. I feel once the team goes to play-offs, the support staff's role is finished. It's about how you see it, that's your space. How you approach it, there are various factors, which come into play and I think this team knows how to play a play-off," Zaheer said in another video.