Almost 20 days ago, Mumbai Indians head coach Mahela Jayawardene had urged the players to be more “ruthless” and avoid “losing discipline” before it was too late to salvage their IPL campaign.
The five-time champions had just lost a close match to Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the Wankhede, having been the most expensive side in the Powerplay, conceding 10.36 runs per over till then. The top order had also failed to show any consistency and as a result, Mumbai Indians had lost four of their first five matches.
The dark phase of last season’s IPL, when they finished last with eight points from 14 matches, almost seemed to haunt them. The batting struggled to gather momentum and their bowling was woeful in the middle overs, the presence of Jasprit Bumrah notwithstanding.
Jayawardene’s words have since worked wonders, with Mumbai winning five matches in a row to be placed second with 12 points from 10 games. But what has sparked this transformation?
The presence of several experienced and T20 specialists, along with the comeback of Jasprit Bumrah, the assurance that Rohit Sharma brings to the team with his run-scoring spree and tactical manoeuvrings have been behind this revolution.
Despite a disastrous campaign last edition, the team management kept faith in their chosen five and the results are showing. The talent scouts worked hard and relied on specialists who have been an instant success in this format.
Consider the case of Ryan Rickelton, the South Africa opener, who has formed a powerful combination with Rohit. Will Jacks at No.3 has been an useful addition
with Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma providing enough firepower down the order. There’s also Hardik Pandya with Naman Dhir being the surprise element.
Once Rohit’s pull shots began to land safely into the stands, Mumbai Indians realised a turnaround was imminent. It coincided with the return of Suryakumar’s explosive batting. A settled look in their batting is already being reflected in the results.
The consistent Mr 360 or SKY, as Surya is popularly called, has only got better with every innings and was at his belligerent best against CSK — 68 not out off 30 balls. He slammed 54 off 28 balls against LSG on Sunday which propelled their total to 215. While Surya leads their batting charts with 427 runs at a strike-rate of 169.44, Rickelton is second with 273.
The bowling too has been top-notch. Trent Boult has formed a lethal combination with Bumrah in the death overs, helping the thinktank to plan their strategy
accordingly.
Kieron Pollard revealed that they used Bumrah with the new ball against SRH to counter their big hitters. They held back Bumrah to unleash him against Nicholas Pooran on Sunday. Being this tactical in plotting the opposition’s downfall has worked well for the side so far.
Boult, Bumrah and Corbin Bosch combined to take 8/68 off 12 overs against LSG, delivering the knockout punch on Sunday.
Peaking at the right time, Mumbai Indians’ potent force has made their rivals wary. Is a sixth IPL crown looming on the horizon?