The Mumbai Indians were defeated by the reigning champions Gujarat Titans in Qualifier 2 of the IPL 2023 by 62 runs .
MI’s bowlers were taken all over the park after a rain-delayed start. With Shubman Gill blazing away to a 60 ball 129 that helped GT record an enormous 233/3 in their 20 overs.
Mumbai’s batsmen responded by giving everything they had, with Suryakumar Yadav top scoring with a 38-ball 61. Tilak Varma smashed a 14 ball 43. MI was bowled out at 171 in the end.
Despite missing out on the championship game, Mumbai Indians will undoubtedly take a number of positives this year. The fact that Rohit Sharma and company were able to perform so effectively despite a few uncertainities and injuries speaks well for them in the next season.
With so many positives surfacing this year, here are three reasons why this Mumbai Indians team will undoubtedly dominate the IPL in the years to come:
1) Their ever-expanding talent pool and scouting efforts
One constant with MI has always been their scouting team to identify and nurture lesser known players. If Tilak emerged as a player to watch in 2022, he demonstrated how much he has developed his game in IPL 2023.
However, this season will be noted for the franchise’s inclusion of Wadhera as a crucial component. He has shown remarkable talent and patience, from stepping up under pressure to saving the team from problems with batting first.
Vishnu Vinod finally had a chance to show why he is a ferocious six hitter on the home ground, while Madhwal emerged as a promising bowler. Kartikeya and Arjun Tendulkar also demonstrated their abilities.
There are still a lot of players waiting like Ramandeep Singh and Raghav Goyal. This supply is only going to grow as Mumbai Indians once again demonstrates that they recognise India’s homegrown talent better than any other IPL team.
As long as that trend continues, they will be difficult to beat as they seek to develop a long term Indian core capable of dominating the league for seasons at a time.
2) With Jofra Archer and Jasprit Bumrah
Their bowling unit has always been vulnerable, and it fell apart in Qualifier 2, regardless the team’s fortunes are looking good.
Akash Madhwal shown remarkable bravery and confidence on the big stage, taking on the side’s death bowling role with ease. Mumbai Indians might field a powerful thiple pace attack next year if Archer and Bumrah are completely recovered.
While it remains to be seen how Bumrah recovers from a stress fracture in his back, he is sure to give the attack a better appearance than it had this year.
Piyush Chawla is bowling as good as ever, and Kumar Kartikeya continues to excel in the spin department, implying that a sixth championship for Mumbai may not be far away in the future years.
1) Dominating batting lineup
Throughout IPL 2023, no total appeared safe enough when set against Mumbai Indians. Cameron Green would get you if Suryakumar Yadav didn’t. Ishan Kishan would if Green didn’t. They could always count on Tim David to do the job.
This was in addition to Tilak Varma and Nehal Wadhera always making their presence felt with outstanding knocks. Rohit’s absence of runs had no effect on the team.
When Mumbai Indians batted first, they frequently set big totals that their bowlers had to defend. And when it came time to pursue, they smashed 200 plus scores with time to spare.
This batting unit may undoubtedly propel them to supremacy in the years ahead.
