Before the first ball was struck this season, there was some uncertainty about how the Mumbai Indians (MI) will do in the IPL 2023. Last time out, they ended dead last. With Jasprit Bumrah ruled out, as well as a major injury shadow hanging over Jofra Archer, many feared the worst for the five-time winners.
The first half of IPL 2023 followed a similar storyline, with MI unable to make an impression. Although there were occasional displays of their impressive batting, they appeared to be infrequent and unpredictable.
Despite facing challenges, they’ve managed to secure victories. As the IPL approaches its crucial stages, this ability to win is what distinguishes the five time champions from other teams.
Mumbai Indians are currently in excellent form
Mumbai Indians have won four of their previous five games, with their lone loss coming at the hands of competitor Chennai Super Kings (CSK). Prior to Friday, all of their wins came when they batted second.
When they had to bat first, as they did against CSK in Chepauk, they only managed 139 and lost decisively. In fact, prior to the match against the Gujarat Titans (GT), they had only won batting first once, against the Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Suryakumar Yadav decided to take matters into his own hands after hearing about their failure to protect totals. He not only produced one of the greatest IPL innings of all time, but he also ensured that his team scored far above average.
Suryakumar has made the impossible appear ordinary for the second time in three days. He was not quite at his best earlier in the season. But he is now, which is bad news for opposing bowlers.
Ishan Kishan is likewise on the verge of going on a scoring spree. He scored a half-century against the Punjab Kings in Mohali a week ago, and while he has not scored a fifty since, his cameos against GT and the RCB have been crucial.
Nehal Wadhera, who has never played a professional T20 game before the IPL 2023, is batting like if he had spent his whole life in the Mumbai Indians’ middle order. The same could be said for N Tilak Varma, who would be a valuable addition once he recovers from his injury. Similarly, Cameron Green and Tim David have showed flashes of their destructive abilities this season.
The most important thing for them is that they have put together this score without much help from their captain. Rohit Sharma struck a couple of nice shots against GT, but he fell well short of the expectations he has set for himself over the years.
Despite his barren run, Mumbai Indians have dominated with the bat, and although this is an indictment of Rohit, it is a warning sign for the rest of the IPL pack. If Rohit can find his crease, Mumbai may become an unstoppable batting powerhouse.
While their batting has rightfully received the most of the attention, their bowling attack deserves recognition as well. Piyush Chawla has had his greatest IPL season in terms of wickets. Akash Madhwal has looked the part in his first campaign. Jason Behrendorff has also been a threat in powerplay recently.
There are doubts about how appropriate Chirs Jordan and Kumar Kartikeya will be in changing conditions, but if they continue to bat like they are, they will just need to perform the very minimum to guarantee their batting job is not completely undone.
That is why Mumbai Indians is such a deadly team. Apart from CSK, no team in the IPL has more experience in winning titles than Mumbai. Almost all of their big players have now arrived at some point. Based on the level of the players, they just need two or three to have a strong day to win.
As a result, Mumbai Indians has gradually evolved into a squad that no one wants to face. It will be difficult to predict a good score if you bat first against them. When batting second, teams may already be chasing the game since the five-time champions will have scored so many runs.