If there is one saying which perfectly describes Mumbai Indians’ triumphant IPL campaign, it is “It ain’t over till it’s over”. After losing five matches from six at the start of the season, no one would have imagined as to what was going to unfold in the coming days. Even many of their supporters would have lost hope because their team was lying at the bottom of the table and their hopes of reaching the play-offs were as good as gone.
What followed was astonishing to say the least. They won nine out of their next ten games and their only loss came at the hands of the Royal Challengers Bangalore thanks to a blistering partnership between Virat Kohli and AB De Villiers.
The historic Eden Gardens in the “City of Joy’, Kolkata, is where they culminated their IPL season in a triumphant manner by beating the strong Chennai Super Kings in the final. They achieved this feat in 2013 as well, at the same ground. This philosophy to bond together, keep a light head, have good game sense and adapt when necessary has been the hallmark of Mumbai’s success this season. Ricky Ponting and Rohit Sharma deserve a lot of credit for keeping a team strong and bonded despite results not going their way and this eventually proved to be the fulcrum of their campaign.
Lendl Simmons (second leading run-scorer with 540 runs in 13 matches) was brought in by Rohit Sharma to join Parthiv Patel when opener Aaron Finch got injured. This changed the whole scenario of MI’s game; they started getting good starts. The injury to Aaron Finch almost proved to be a blessing in disguise for them. This allowed Lendl Simmons to get a place in the team and along with Parthiv Patel, he was consistent throughout the tournament.
Simmons’ match-winning half-century in the final was his sixth 50-plus score in the season, the most by a Mumbai batsman across all IPL franchises. Rohit Sharma was at his usual best and scored 482 runs in total and led the team to a second IPL title in an exquisite manner. His leadership was vital in their turnaround this season. Kieron Pollard had his best ever season in IPL cricket. He was given a lot more responsibility and in the absence of Corey Anderson, who left midway through the tournament due to injury, the pressure to perform enhanced and boy, didn’t he do well? He guided the likes of Ambati Rayudu and Hardik Pandya and was crucial to their performances as well.
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As far as the bowling side of things was concerned, the experience of Harbhajan Singh and Lasith Malinga, with an aggressive newcomer in Mitchell McClenaghan, probed the opponent batsmen with some really attacking bowling. They picked up 62 wickets combined in 15 matches. Malinga was the second highest wicket-taker with his 24 in 15 matches and slowly regained his finesse and touch which seemed missing during the earlier stages of the tournament. Harbhajan Singh’s performance made us wonder whether he had turned the clock five years back as he seemed to bowl a lot slower and flighted the ball a lot more. He also managed to regain his spot in the Indian Test team for the tour to Bangladesh.
“Some of the guys that played for MI for the first time this season did extremely well for us. The likes of J Suchith and Hardik Pandya were very impressive. Also, Vinay Kumar – I know he is an experienced campaigner, but this was his first year for MI. I thought he didn’t start out very convincingly but he finished brilliantly. He peaked at the right time.” — Sachin Tendulkar on how Mumbai’s unknown talent performed this season.
The likes of Jagadeesha Suchith, Hardik Pandya and Ambati Rayudu did a lot more than what was expected of them. They didn’t hog the limelight but certainly produced some match winning performances and were fundamental in Mumbai’s run to the finals.
“Being a part of an IPL winning team is going to be at the top of my list in my cricketing career for a long time. I guess life will be changing for me after this. This experience with the Mumbai Indians will change the way I look at the game. Hopefully this is just the beginning and I have lots more to look forward to in the future.” — All-rounder Hardik Pandya on his maiden IPL season.
Bowling Coach Shane Bond stated: “I think there are a range of guys who have impressed me from this team. I think the two guys who played for us consistently in the back end of the tournament; Hardik Pandya and Jagadeesha Suchith have great attitudes and worked hard. They have got big futures ahead and it was fun working with them.”
The story of the Mumbai Indians is a fascinating one and their turnaround is one of the most remarkable things to have happened in IPL history. The whole team must be credited for turning a cornerstone and they truly deserve their trophy and the celebrations to come with it..
