IPL 2015 Final: Five Things We Learned From Mumbai Indians Winning Their Second Title

It was for the third time Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings were involved in an IPL final

Mumbai Indians (MI), by way of a massive 41-run victory over the Chennai Super Kings (CSK), lifted their second Indian Premier League (IPL) title that has got them equal with Chennai and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), as the teams to have won 2 titles apiece.

It was an imperious display from the home side that never let CSK off the hook, and it was, from a neutral's point-of-view, disappointing to witness such an one-sided final to bring the curtains down on what has by far been the most competitive season.

MS Dhoni won the toss and strangely, chose to bowl first on what has been a good batting wicket at the Eden Gardens this season. The Chennai skipper probably went by the record of the 6 completed games this season, at this venue, which has seen the teams chasing win 4 times. But it was a decision that, you could say, played it into MI's hands, as the hosts have been happy to bat first and put a total on the board.

Francois du Plessis inflicted a brilliant run out of Parthiv Patel in the very first over, to kick start Chennai's bowling innings on a resounding note. However, Rohit Sharma walked in at No.3 and played a simply magical innings.

The Mumbai batsman, along with the ever consistent Lendl Simmons, played audaciously and the Chennai bowlers didn't have an answer to the fluency that this partnership exuded.

This partnership, which put together a whopping 119 from a mere 67 balls, put their side in firm control of the proceedings very early on in the game, but by no means would have wanted to get out in subsequent overs (the 12th and 13th), and open the flood gates for the Super Kings.

Ambati Rayudu and Kieron Pollard, though, made sure that there wasn't a further procession of wickets, soon after the quick fall of Simmons-Rohit duo. They took their time to settle down before going for the big strokes, as they sought to reach that magical 200-run mark.

Mumbai reached 202/5 at the end of their 20 overs, with 4 of their batsmen making substantial contributions to the team's cause and tearing the visitors' bowling attack apart. 203 was always going to be a massive total to chase, but a good start was imperative if CSK had to set the cat amongst the pigeons.

Lasith Malinga and Mitchell McClenaghan, as they have done on so many occasions this season, bowled well with the new ball, restricting Dwayne Smith and Michael Hussey to just a handful of scoring shots in the mandatory powerplay.

It meant that Dhoni's side needed more than 12 runs-per-over after the powerplay was over, which was going to be arduous given that Chennai's middle-order has failed miserably this season and none of their batsmen has been in any sort of form whatsoever.

Mumbai's bowlers were clinical in the way they went about their trade, using the scoreboard pressure to their advantage and halting the CSK batsmen from ball No.1.

Smith top-scored for the visitors with a 48-ball 59, which was an unusual innings from him and not one that gave Chennai the kind of start they were looking for in pursuit of 203. CSK, as a result, left themselves with too much to do in the last quarter of the game, and started losing wickets in a heap towards the end.

The Indians went onto win the game by a massive 41 runs, thereby clinching their second IPL title and issuing a warning to the other franchises. What did we make of that one-sided IPL 2015 final?

Read on...

Mumbai showed the quality of champions

Mumbai got themselves out of trouble on a couple of occasions, which proved crucial to their victory

Chennai couldn't have asked for a better start than the one they got when Parthiv ran himself out in trying to pinch a single against du Plessis at mid-on.

Mumbai have thrived on the good starts rendered by their openers throughout this season, and an early wicket surely wasn't the way to start, as far as they were concerned.

However, having said that, Rohit walked in at No.3 and took the attack to the opposition, playing freely and taking Chennai by surprise.

The visitors probably didn't see it coming, as Simmons was Rohit's batting partner and expected to play the big shots, with the skipper anchoring the innings.

It was quite a significant phase - from the 2nd over till the completion of the powerplay - in the game, which was won by Mumbai and that then gave them the edge over their opponents on the night.

There was another crucial phase during the MI innings, when Rohit and Simmons got out in a matter of couple of balls and Chennai had a chance to get back into the game.

Rayudu and Pollard, though, were sensible in the way they approached it, not relinquishing the advantage they had got as a result of the 119-run stand between Simmons and Rohit.

During their batting innings, Mumbai played the better cricket than Chennai, who couldn't come up with the answers to the questions the Indians put forward to them.

A good batting performance helped the visitors pile on 202 on the night of the finals, but it was important for them to kill the game off by bowling well at the beginning of CSK's innings; by restricting Chennai to a paltry 31/1 from the mandatory powerplay, Mumbai got a stranglehold of the game and didn't look back thereafter.

Therefore, they showed the quality of the champions and were deserving of their 2nd IPL title.

Chennai are a declining force in the IPL

Suresh Raina had a poor season, and contributed to his side's failure

On a night when MI issued a statement of intent to the rest of the IPL outfits, Chennai, by way of losing their third straight final, increasingly look like a side that is on the decline.

They have by far been the most consistent side throughout the history of the IPL, but this season has been a poor one by their standards and their weaknesses were exploited by Mumbai yesterday.

Chennai lost the moments in the game they were expected to come out on top, and their poor performance contributed to such a one-side final.

Mumbai played a sumptuous brand of cricket, but the visitors never came up with one stern response and that is the primary reason why I think they are fast becoming a declining force in the IPL.

The nature of the T20 cricket is such that it can make you look too good one day, and the exact opposite on another. But Chennai were appalling as a unit, led by Dhoni, who needs to raise his game first and foremost.

The decision to field first was another one of those tactical errors he has made this season, and then his failure to conjure up a turnaround after Mumbai looked in complete control of the game, was not good to see, at all.

If the Super Kings need to return to their impeccable best as a unit, Dhoni has simply got to improve on his batting, which has been one of the negative aspects of his, as well as the South Indian franchise's, season.

His captaincy and the way he manipulated his bowling options, was predictable and left a lot to be desired.

I thought that he could have utilized Dwayne Bravo better than he did throughout this season. The all-rounder finished the season with 26 wickets, and was tough to get away for most batsmen in the IPL. Therefore, it was a no brainer to maybe use him for an over or two in the first half of the batting innings, thereby stop the opponents from dictating the tempo and easily grab at least one wicket, which can mean so much in the context of a T20 game.

While their skipper typified CSK's season, the likes of Suresh Raina, Smith and du Plessis disappointed with the bat, too, and it was probably 'the' reason for Chennai failing to be competitive during the second half of the season.

MI played their best cricket on the night of the finals

The Indians, as we all have seen, made an obnoxious start to their IPL 2015 campaign, losing the first four games and inviting serious derision for the way they kept failing as a unit during the first few weeks of the 8th edition of the Pepsi IPL.

They turned their form around before the completion of the first half of the league phase, and hit their best form mid-way through the second half of the tournament.

However, it wasn't as though they dominated their games and registered comfortable victories; they had to work hard to get two points in the league phase and even in the Qualifier 1, Mumbai had to drop sweat and blood to overcome CSK.

Mumbai were clinical, close to flawless on the night of the finals

On the night of the finals, though, MI's performance was very close to flawless, and that was the reason for Chennai struggling to find enough openings and get themselves back into the game.

Mumbai were brilliant with the bat; the bowling attack fed off the good work done by the batsmen, and the ground fielding, and catching, was better than most nights during this IPL.

It was a comprehensive MI performance that couldn't have arrived at a more appropriate stage of the tournament.

Rohit leading from the front was invigorating to see

In the build up to the Qualifier 1 against CSK, Rohit spoke quite a lot about playing fearless cricket and it, therefore, was rather good to see the captain taking the mantle upon himself and living up to his own words.

When he came into bat in the finals, his side was in a spot of bother, and it could have been easy for him to think of smothering the Chennai bowling attack, playing the anchor role and focusing too much on not losing anymore wickets in the powerplay.

But there was genuine intent from Rohit, who struck boundaries from the first delivery he faced, shifting the pressure back on to the Chennai bowlers.

Rohit, during his vigil in the middle, scored runs across all areas of the ground and finished with 50 (26), an innings that was punctuated with six 4s and a couple of crisply struck 6s. I thought Rohit's innings was one of the major turning points in the game.

Rohit's captaincy has been rather impressive this season

When Mumbai came onto bowl, Rohit once again was astute in the way he utilized his bowlers, clearly understanding the situation of the game and executing his tactics perfectly.

Like in the Qualifier 1, he had to make a decision of not bowling Jagadeesha Suchith while the visitors had a left-hander batting in the middle, and he manipulated his other bowling options very well. Suchith, in fact, never bowled in the game, which saw Hardik Pandya complete his four overs for the first time in the title-winning season.

The stylish right-hander was probably not as consistent as he would have liked to be with the bat, but overall, Rohit had a wonderful IPL 2015 season as a skipper and secondly, batsman.

In hindsight, it wasn't an unexpected result, except for the margin of it

Chennai did well to win against the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the Qualifier 2 and qualify for the 6th IPL final in their history.

However, despite that 3-wicket victory, Dhoni's devils had won just 4 of their 9 games prior to last night's finals, while Mumbai, on the other hand, had won 8 of their 9 games and were clearly the favorites to pip CSK for the title.

Mumbai outshone Chennai in all three departments of the game and, as aforementioned, the visitors didn't have an answer to the dominance shown by the hosts.

It wasn't a surprising script, because MI were the more in-form of the two finalists

CSK were afforded very few chances or opportunities, if at all there were any, and the Indians were well-organized and had a method to their approach, an aspect that Chennai lacked.

Maybe in a final of a T20 competition, you didn't expect such a massive margin of victory for Mumbai, considering that Chennai are a good side and thrive on occasions such as last night's.

However, they simply weren't at it, and simply put: the more in-form of the two sides clinched it.

Final Thought

Chennai, with their loss yesterday, have now won only two of the six IPL finals they have contested, and it was a shame that they didn't even manage to run a resurgent MI side close.

Mumbai Indians have surprised many cricket followers around the world

From Mumbai's perspective, it was yet another team performance that had every member of the playing XI contributing in one way or another, to help their side win the title back from KKR's grasp. With their 10th victory in their last 11 games, MI completed the turnaround by winning the prestigious crown.

IPL 2015, Match 43: Five Things We Learned From Mumbai Indians' Victory Over Chennai Super Kings

Hardik Pandya played an absolute blinder to get his side over the finishing line

Mumbai Indians (MI) registered their fifth consecutive victory in the 8th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), as they successfully overcame a star-studded Chennai Super Kings (CSK) side by six wickets.

It was Mumbai's first victory over their illustrious opponents for five games, and they had to give blood and sweat to not slump to their 5th consecutive defeat against the men in yellow.

MS Dhoni won the toss and chose to bat first, which is the norm in any fixture played at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, and the home side went into the game with three specialist spinners - Ravichandran Ashwin returned to action in place of Ishwar Pandey, while Pawan Negi and Ravindra Jadeja retained their places - in the playing XI.

Mumbai, on the other hand, had to bring in Marchant de Lange for Lasith Malinga, who was not eligible to play in Chennai.

The hosts, unlike in the reverse fixture between these sides, couldn't really get going with the bat at any stage during their innings, and credit to the visitors for choking up the runs and making life difficult for the CSK batsmen.

The top three batsmen fell cheaply, and the mantle was handed over to Dhoni and Faf du Plessis to get their side to a respectable score. However, du Plessis, in trying to up the ante in the 16th over, fell to Mitchell McClenaghan which really put the squeeze on the Super Kings' innings. It was Negi's ultra-impressive 17-ball 39 that got Chennai over 150, a score that usually is hard to chase at the Chepauk.

Mumbai got off to a good start and had the game in the bag after 10 overs. But in trying to keep the scoreboard moving, the visitors lost three wickets for two runs in the space of two overs, and let the home side comeback into the game. They finally got there in the end, aided by Dhoni's 'tactical error', which you don't often get from the tried and tested Ranchi lad.

It was a morale-boosting victory for MI, albeit it need not have been under such dramatic circumstances. In hindsight, what did we learn from an inspiring Mumbai performance?

Mumbai blunted Chennai's threat upfront with the bat and ball

Brendon McCullum's threat was neutralized by MI's new ball bowlers

This Chennai side is known for doing most of the damage early on in the game, be it with the bat or ball. It was 'the' reason for the ignominious defeat Mumbai suffered at the Wankhede earlier in the season, when Brendon McCullum and Dwayne Smith made a mockery of the target - 184 - set by the home side that day. Ashish Nehra also got wickets with the new ball, which really set Mumbai back.

I am sure that it would have been discussed in the MI camp prior to the game, and they did well to smother CSK early on in both the innings'.

McClenaghan, de Lange and Jagadeesha Suchith bowled good lines and lengths, and didn't provide the hosts' opening duo with any freebies.

McCullum was the one who showed genuine intent in going for the boundaries while Smith couldn't find his touch. Mumbai should have had the New Zealand skipper in the 3rd over, which was delivered by Suchith, when Harbhajan Singh uncharacteristically put down a dolly. But they weren't punished by the hard-hitting right-hander, who fell in the fifth over to Vinay Kumar's bowling, giving a simple catch to Hardik Pandya, who was positioned on the deep mid-wicket boundary.

It was a much-needed wicket for Mumbai, who not only gained that early impetus in the game but neutralized CSK's biggest threat.

Also, when Mumbai came out to bat, it was great tactical awareness from Parthiv Patel and Lendl Simmons, who delivered a quick, and perfect, start to their side. They attacked Nehra in particular, and scored a whopping 28 runs in his first two overs, putting Dhoni and the home side under extreme pressure.

The purple cap holder didn't have an answer to both Parthiv and Simmons, who pounced on even the slightest error in line or length committed by the left-arm seamer, who finished with figures of 3-0-45-0.

In the overall context of the game, Mumbai blunting Chennai's threat upfront was pivotal to their victory last night.

Malinga wasn't missed as was first thought

Suchith was one of the MI bowlers who ensured that Malinga wasn't missed

It was advantage CSK for the simple reason that Mumbai had the leader of their bowling attack ineligible to play.

Not only did it mean that de Lange, who hadn't played a single game in the tournament until last night, replaced the talismanic Sri Lankan, but the visitors had to depend on other bowlers to pick wickets for them, which was never going to be easy against a batting lineup of Chennai's calibre.

However, it was so invigorating to see McClenaghan, de Lange and young Suchith take over the baton from Malinga and deliver in the manner they did.

de Lange, in particular, bowled well, taking into account that it was his first game of this campaign. He went for a mere five runs in his first two overs, which saw him bend his back and get the ball to carry nicely to Parthiv behind the stumps. He got a bit of tapping from Dhoni and Negi at the fag end of Chennai's innings, but you expect that in this format of the game.

Suchith continues to impress with each passing game, and it is particularly pleasing to see him thrive while bowling in the powerplay overs, which can be a nightmare for most spinners. Also, when he came on for his second spell, in the 9th over of Chennai's innings, it was Suresh Raina on strike and, against a left-arm spinner, you expect a left-hand batsman to harness the affable angle of the delivery. But Suchith struck to his task and dismissed the southpaw right after being hit for a six earlier in the over.

McClenaghan continued the good work he has been doing since his first game of this edition of the IPL, and bowled better than his figures of 4-0-34-1 suggest.

Harbhajan and Vinay were the not-so-impressive bowlers for the visitors, as they went for 69 runs in 7 overs combined. The off-spinner, who was expected to relish bowling on the Chennai wicket, didn't have a good outing following his magnificent spell against Delhi Daredevils (DD) three nights back.

Vinay... well, is the weak-link as far as Mumbai's bowling attack is concerned. He bowls too short for a bowler of his pace, and doesn't put enough effort into his deliveries. With Pandya showing good signs as a bowler, I would be tempted to play an extra batsman in place of the Karnataka Ranji skipper.

In the grand scheme of things, it was job well done with the ball for MI who, in the absence of Malinga, were expected to struggle.

The playing surface behaved better compared to the previous games in Chepauk

The pitch at Chepauk played better last night

The nature of the surface was something that Mumbai had to contend with, especially for a team that plays on a million-times quicker wicket at the Wankhede Stadium.

In Chennai, the wicket is dry, devoid of grass and moisture, and helps the ball stick to the wicket for a fraction of a second, which makes it tough for the batsman to time his shots.

However, last night, I felt that it was more batsmen-friendly compared to the previous games. Also, there was better carry to the wicket-keeper, and the spinners couldn't extract as much turn as they would have anticipated. Yes, it was on the slower side, but not as slow as in some of the previous games played at this venue.

A better wicket meant that Chennai probably needed a score in the region of 170-180. 158 was still a good score, but it wasn't good enough yesterday, especially, and Dhoni addressed that in his post-match interview.

There also appeared to be a bit of dew in the second innings, which made it slightly easier for Mumbai to chase down the target of 159.

The understated players in the Indians' setup stepped up once again

Pandya thrived on the big stage and made the world take notice

Mumbai's renaissance in this year's Pepsi IPL has been totally down to what the understated players in that lineup have achieved thus far.

The likes of Parthiv, Ambati Rayudu and Pandya can become obscure in a side that boasts of the Malingas, Kieron Pollards and Rohit Sharmas.

However, we simply cannot forget the contributions made by Parthiv and Rayudu, in particular, over the last four games, including yesterday's, which have seen this duo make big runs in crucial games for their side.

Rayudu, being a finisher, has come in at big-pressure situations and played some jaw-dropping innings that are not usually expected of the Hyderabadi batsman, who is more of a grafter.

Patel has been fluent at the top of the innings over the last four games, scoring boundaries at will and putting pressure on oppositions' new ball bowlers - Mitchell Johnson, Nehra and Tim Southee, to name a few - who simply haven't had an answer to the wicket-keeper batsman's audacious stroke-making.

Last night saw Pandya thrive on the big stage and make the world take notice of his talents. When pitted against another contender for the emerging player of the tournament, in Negi, the right-hander punched above his weight and played an absolute gem of an innings that saw Mumbai win from an improbable position of needing 30 runs in the final two overs.

On the field, he continued his good work, taking good catches and stopping boundaries - a display that might well have given him the confidence heading into the batting innings.

It is so pleasing to see MI's understated players come to the party and deliver under crunch circumstances. Such performances have made Mumbai a stronger unit than they first seemed, and yesterday's victory also showed that they are not over-reliant on the superstars of the side.

Mumbai prove their efficiency against CSK, once again

Mumbai have had the better of Chennai over the years in IPL history

As aforementioned, Mumbai had lost their previous four games - all three last season, and the reverse fixture this season - against Chennai, which made the head-to-head record between the sides look much more even, with 10-9 in favor of the South Indian franchise.

However, Mumbai have, over the years in the IPL, been the only side that has really gone toe-to-toe with Dhoni's devils and made them look an ordinary outfit.

Last night too, whenever CSK appeared to take a forward step, Mumbai did well to keep themselves in the game.

They bowled well for a majority of Chennai's innings, and Dhoni's side had notched up a mere 104 at the beginning of the 16th over. Then there was that partnership between Dhoni and Negi, who took their side to 158, giving themselves an advantage going into the second innings of the game.

However, the way MI came out all guns blazing, and took Chennai's bowling apart, was simply wonderful. They, once again, lost their way in the second half of their innings, leaving themselves with too much to do in the last five overs.

The home side started getting a stranglehold of proceedings, and it increasingly looked like MI had committed hara-kiri after getting off to such a good start.

But in Rayudu and Pandya, they once again found two heroes who pinched the game that was firmly in CSK's grasp, shocking the home crowd that is rather used to seeing their side winning and not let these kinds of situations go begging.

Final Thought

It really has been a massive turnaround in MI's season that began with four consecutive defeats. Having won five out of their last six games, they have got to 12 points from 11 games and given themselves a genuine chance of making it to the playoffs.

They still have major work to be done and cannot afford to take things for granted, as they play Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) - at home - in their next two games that will go a long way in deciding their fate.

The significance of yesterday's victory over Chennai just cannot be stressed enough, and Mumbai must be high on confidence given the manner of yesterday's triumph.

IPL 2015, 35th Match Preview: Can the Mumbai Indians Add More Misery On Kings XI Punjab's Season?

Kings XI won at the fortress of Mumbai - Wankhede Stadium - earlier this season

Mumbai Indians (MI) take on the bottom-placed Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) at Mohali on Sunday, as both sides look to gather some sort of momentum towards the business end of this season's Pepsi Indian Premier League.

Today's visitors have found form recently, winning 3 of their last 4 games and are coming into this game on the back of a very good performance at home against Rajasthan Royals (RR).

Kings XI, on the other hand, are win-less in their last three games, slumping to demoralizing defeats at the hands of Chennai Super Kings (CSK), Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Delhi Daredevils (DD).

It is an intriguing fixture that will have major repercussions on both sides' chances of making it to the playoffs: a win for MI and they will join the likes of Daredevils and Sunrisers as the teams that have 8 points; a win, however, for KXIP and they could feel they are still in with a chance of making it to the last four.

But which team is more likely to handle pressure better and deliver today? Read on...

Punjab

Last season's finalists have been enduring an abominable season so far, and badly need a win today to gain some respectability on the points table.

The superstars of last year - the Virender Sehwags, the Glenn Maxwells, the Wriddhiman Sahas and Mitchell Johnsons - haven't got going this time around, and much of the responsibility, be it with the bat or ball, has fallen on the likes of George Bailey, David Miller, Sandeep Sharma and Anureet Singh, to deliver in every one of their side's games.

Shaun Marsh, however, has added muscle to that Kings XI batting order, scoring one half-century and getting off to starts in the three other games he has played since coming over from Australia.

The struggling Punjab side will no doubt rely on their talismanic southpaw to bail them out of this wretched form they are in at the moment.

Apart from the Western Australian, Murali Vijay has looked in good touch whenever he has gone out to bat, but the Indian opener is yet to come up with a big score while opening the innings for his side.

Bailey, as a result of the lack of good starts from the side's openers, has had to do the repair work in most of the games. But importantly for Punjab, their skipper is averaging 34 with the bat and has been consistent in scoring runs for his side.

Coming to Kings XI's bowling: Axar Patel, with 9 wickets from 8 games, has carried on from where he left off last season, bowling economically and picking wickets during the middle overs of opponents' innings.

Sandeep Sharma has been bowling brilliantly this season

Anureet and Sandeep have excelled as a new ball bowling partnership, picking up 10 wickets and 9 wickets, respectively, and responded to the pressure of the big stage in a positive way.

Going into today's game, they need to dislodge Mumbai's openers as quickly as possible: Pathiv Patel and Lendl Simmons have come good of late, but they are by no means a devastating opening pair.

The visitors' middle order is brittle, and if Punjab can inflict damage early on in the innings, it will be a test of Mumbai's batting depth and whether they can deliver when the openers have failed to render a good start.

I think, even for a side that is struggling as Punjab are at the moment, the T20 format of the game will give them the freedom to express themselves and one good performance can lead to another.

So Bailey's boys just need to be telling themselves that they need to get that elusive win under their belt and good things will follow.

Their resurgence, however, has to begin quickly or their season could be over in the next couple of games.

Mumbai

Of the two sides, Mumbai are the in-form side and have the winning momentum as a result of victories in their last two games.

Mumbai's openers will hold the key to visitors' chances of winning

The opening combination of Patel and Simmons has averaged over 42 runs/innings over the last four games, and its performances have been vital to Mumbai winning the games against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), SRH and the Royals a couple of days back.

Questions remain over Rohit Sharma's batting position but, as long as the openers get the team off to a good start, it shouldn't be a concern as people are making it out to be.

When it comes to batting, the form of Unmukt Chand will be 'the' concern for the team management that has kept faith on the youngster, who, however, has played some irresponsible shots to get out in his recent outings with the bat.

It remains to be seen if Ricky Ponting and company decide to drop him and bring someone like Hardik Pandya into the playing XI; do not be surprised though, if they decide to stick with the winning combination.

Ambati Rayudu's 53 (27) in the last game will not only be crucial to the Hyderabadi's confidence, but it will strengthen the Mumbai middle order that has oft been reliant on Rohit and Kieron Pollard to deliver the goods.

The bowling form of Mitchell McClenaghan, when it comes to the bowling department, will be of particular delight to Mumbai, whose bowling attack has been poor for much of this campaign.

In the last two games which they have gone onto win, the bowling attack led by Lasith Malinga, has really stood up and played crucial roles in its side's victories.

Vinay Kumar, for me, remains the weak link in the bowling attack, but the Karnataka Ranji skipper might continue to remain in the playing XI because of the lack of better replacements for the medium-pacer.

Going into this game against Kings XI, Mumbai need to carry on from where they left off a couple of nights ago against the Royals.

The confidence levels must be pretty high in the camp right now and, from MI's perspective, it is good that they are playing these games in quick succession.

Today's hosts, if their form so far this season is anything to go by, shouldn't pose much threat to Mumbai, but the nature of the format is such that you cannot take anything for granted.

Mumbai will also like the nature of the playing surface that must be largely akin to the one they play on at the Wankhede Stadium.

Final Thought

Mumbai, on the basis of their current form, will start as favorites for this fixture, but Kings XI aren't a bad side as their results this season have suggested.

It should be a closely-contested game that will depend on the resurgence shown by the home side, and whether they exude fortitude during this tough phase.

IPL 2015: Five Things We Learned From Mumbai Indians' Victory Over Rajasthan Royals

Rayudu and McClenaghan helped Mumbai win against Rajasthan

Mumbai Indians (MI) registered their 3rd win of this season's Pepsi IPL, with a relatively comfortable 8-run victory over Rajasthan Royals (RR) at the Wankhede Stadium last night.

The Indians hadn't played well in the tournament until last night, and it was always going to be a stringent examination of their mental toughness and ability to execute their plans against the second-placed Rajasthan.

The visitors came into this game having not had a win in their four previous fixtures, two of which were washed out, and wanted to win this game to gain some momentum.

Shane Watson, the Royals' skipper, won the toss and asked Mumbai to bat first on what was a decent batting surface that had a bit of bounce to keep the bowlers interested.

The hosts made a good start through their openers, lost their way a bit during the middle overs, but got themselves to a competitive total of 187/5 as a result of Ambati Rayudu's scintillating innings.

RR needed 188 to win for the first time in five games, and they looked on course for a major part of their run-chase.

However, the hosts kept themselves in the game by picking wickets and the visitors' batsmen, except Sanju Samson, failed to make substantial contributions.

Samson single-handedly tried to take his side home, but once he got out in the 18th over for an astonishing innings of 76(46), the visitors' chances of winning became slim. Mumbai won by 8 runs after a nervy last over by Vinay Kumar, and got themselves to six points after eight games.

In retrospect, what did we learn from that MI performance? Read on...

Have Mumbai unearthed a reliable opening combination?

Mumbai, from the very first season of the Indian Premier League, have struggled to find an opening combination that gives them solidity at the top of the order and a platform for the middle and lower-middle order to throw the kitchen sink during the latter stages of the innings.

This season has been no different in that regard, with Aaron Finch, the new recruit from Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), injuring his hamstring and having to go home after playing just three games.

However, having seen Lendl Simmons contribute so much to his side making it to the playoffs last season, Finch's absence wasn't going to concern MI much, if the Caribbean opener played like he did last season.

But the problem was going to be in finding a partner for Simmons. Parthiv Patel has been given that responsibility of opening the innings with Simmons, and the wicket-keeper batsman has done a decent job so far.

In the last four games, this opening combo of Simmons and Parthiv has averaged over 42 runs per innings, though only Simmons has kicked on and played bigger innings' than the diminutive southpaw.

Against Royals last night, it was Parthiv who took the initiative of scoring boundaries in the mandatory powerplay, and helped himself to an attractive 14-ball 23 while his partner wasn't in the best of rhythm.

The story could well have been different if Samson hung on to the chance Simmons gave him in the very first over. But, from MI's perspective, it was important that the openers stayed there for a while and scored at least 8 runs per over during the first 6 overs, which is exactly what the Parthiv-Simmons duo did.

In this format of the game, if the opening pair can give you 40 runs in every innings they go out to bat, any team would be happy, and it should be no different in Mumbai's case.

They will be hoping that Parthiv and Simmons can continue to perform at the top of the order, like they have done in the last four fixtures, subsequently laying a foundation for their side to post totals in the region of 180-200.

Rayudu's innings of 53(27) was an absolute gem

Mumbai batsmen had delivered only on one occasion prior to yesterday. Their solitary good performance came against the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) at the Chinnaswamy Stadium when they posted a mammoth score of 209 on the board, with the likes of Simmons, Rohit Sharma and Unmukt Chand making substantial contributions to their team's total.

Mumbai also have had problems with their batting order that has been shuffled and renovated on far too many occasions. The general consensus has been that Rohit, the team's best batsman, should bat no less than at No.3.

However, Mumbai have persevered with their skipper slotting himself at No.4, behind Chand at No.3.

Against the Royals, MI's top four remained the same but at No.5, instead of Kieron Pollard, Rayudu walked in with his side needing to rebuild after the fall of Chand, with the scorecard reading 3/84 in the 11th over.

Ambati Rayudu's 53 was priceless to Mumbai

The Hyderabadi batsmen played a lot of singles down to long-on and long-off to kick start his innings. It wasn't until the 17th over, that Rayudu put his foot on the accelerator and started to look for boundaries.

Rohit too got out at a critical stage of the innings and Mumbai needed someone to hang in there with the incoming Pollard.

That notion, however, went into the trashcan once Rayudu started striking it sweetly and nonchalantly, assuming the role of the leading batsman in the partnership.

He really took the attack to Southee, who delivered the 19th over and conceded 16 runs, 15 of which came from the bat of Rayudu who scored a couple of boundaries, a six and single.

He brought up his 50 in the last over of the MI innings, finishing with 53 from 27 balls, punctuated by four 4s and three massive 6s.

In the end analysis of the game, it probably was his innings that made the difference to Mumbai registering their second consecutive victory for the first time this season.

Mitchell McClenaghan made the difference to Mumbai's bowling

Mitchell McClenaghan has added firepower to MI's bowling attack

Mumbai's bowling has been their achilles heel for much of this season, even though they defended a paltry 157 against the Sunrisers in their last game prior to yesterday. 

Lasith Malinga hasn't looked his usual self; Harbhajan Singh has bowled well, but also gone for runs; the likes of Jagadeesha Suchith and Vinay Kumar have been unreliable and expensive at most times.

A similar story ensued even last night against the Royals who, in their pursuit of 188, were going along smoothly, keeping the required rate well within their grasp and scoring boundaries at will against the hosts' bowling attack.

Mitchell McClenaghan was the standout bowler for the hosts for a second game in succession.

The Kiwi seamer didn't start off well, but redeemed himself after an erratic first couple of overs that went for nine and 12 runs respectively.

He was brought back into the attack in the 15th over, with Steve Smith on strike and RR needing 64 runs from the last six overs. 

After bowling a wide in the first delivery of the over, McClenaghan superbly tied down Smith by bowling outside off-stump, getting the ball to bounce from just back of a good length. 

He was clever in the way he operated to Smith, who is strong off his pads and with vertical bat shots down the ground.

He succeeded in bowling back of a length to Smith, who failed to put bat to ball in three consecutive deliveries and, having got just 3 runs from the first 5 balls in the 15th over, a big shot was definitely around the corner: McClenaghan persevered with the same line and length of attack, Smith slashed at it this time and top-edged it to third-man, who took a good low catch. The tactic was brilliantly executed by the New Zealand seamer.

In the 18th over, McClenaghan had the challenge of bowling to Samson, who was on song last night. The Kerala batsman tonked him for a six over cover on the third ball of the over and got the equation well in favor of his side. 

McClenaghan responded with a wicket in the very next ball, picking up Samson, who spooned an easy catch to long-off, and wresting the initiative for his side. 

On a day when all MI bowlers were taken for over 30 runs, with Vinay and Suchith conceding 78 runs from their combined quota of 8 overs, McClenaghan's figures of 4-0-31-3 were crucial to his side winning the game. 

Mumbai can reinforce their playing XI - if they want

I have been clamoring for changes to be made to Mumbai's playing XI ever since the Indians suffered defeat against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on the opening day of the season. 

Vinay Kumar, I doubt, is benefiting MI in any way

The purchase of Vinay from KKR made no sense to me, and the Karnataka Ranji skipper has also failed to harness the consistent run of games given to him by the team management.

The MI think-tank probably believes that Vinay is the better of all other Indian bowlers - Pawan Suyal, Jasprit Bumrah, Abhimanyu Mithun, Shreyas Gopal - they have at their disposal.

However, they could very well look at the option of playing the all-rounder Hardik Pandya in place of Vinay, as he can score runs with the bat and chip in with a couple of overs, too. 

During his outings against RCB and Delhi Daredevils (DD), Pandya showed that he can be more than a decent bowler, though he went for 51 runs from the 5 overs he bowled in both games combined. 

When Vinay plays, not only is he the weak link in the MI bowling attack, but the pressure on the three leading bowlers - Malinga, Harbhajan and McClenaghan - becomes immense and it could well boomerang for Mumbai on one or the other day. 

The other change I would make will be that of Chand, who hasn't got going with the bat in 5 games he has played so far. The Delhi batsman has scored a mere 102 runs in 5 innings, including a 58 against RCB. MI can persevere with Chand if they want to, but for how long? What are the other options?

There aren't many replacement options for Chand but the MI think-tank could probably look at bringing in Aditya Tare at No.6, pushing someone like Rohit or Rayudu into that No.3 slot. 

Mumbai need consistent results and at least 4 wins from the remaining 5 games in the league phase, and cannot be sticking with non-performers - both Vinay and Chand once again failed yesterday in their respective trades, and do not look like benefiting the team in future games either. 

MI were the better of the two sides over 40 overs

Mumbai, having been put into bat, posted a good score of 187 on the board. But playing at Wankhede, you can never feel secure even after posting such scores, as we already have had the example of Chennai Super Kings (CSK) chasing 184 with utmost disdain earlier this season. 

The Royals, for their part, were always in with a shout, first with the bowl and then when they batted. 

Therefore, there wasn't a whole lot of difference between the sides that produced a good game. But Mumbai had the better of their opponents over 40 overs and deserved to come away with a victory and two points.

Final Thought

Mumbai, with their third victory of the season, have got themselves to 6 points from 8 games. Yesterday's victory, however, didn't change their position on the points table and they remained where they started the evening at, in 7th place.

But the manner of this victory, which came as a result of producing a close-to-comprehensive performance, should give them confidence ahead of the upcoming trio of games - against Kings XI Punjab (KXIP), DD and CSK - in the next 7 days. 

Mumbai will be hoping that they can continue to perform like they did last night, as they will pose far better challenges to their upcoming opponents, who easily beat them in the first round of fixtures.

IPL 8: Is There a Way Back For The Listless Mumbai Indians?

Mumbai Indians are yet to produce a convincing display this season

Mumbai Indians(MI) slumped to their 5th defeat in 6 Indian Premier League(IPL) games, against the Delhi Daredevils last night.

Rohit Sharma's men just haven't got going this season, and it looks increasingly likely that their season is fast petering out. Ricky Ponting, the new head coach of the franchise, and company haven't been able to find their best playing XI till this point of the season but, to their defence, the MI squad has mediocrity written all over it. With just 7 more games to play in the season and needing at least 6 wins from the remaining fixtures, can the 1-time IPL winners turn it around?

Aaron Finch, the new recruit from Sunrisers Hyderabad, didn't play well in the first two games of his Mumbai Indians' career, following which he suffered a severe hamstring injury while batting against Rajasthan Royals and flew back home for treatment.

Lendl Simmons, who single-handedly carried them into the playoffs last season, has stepped into Finch's shoes and looked good while he has been in the middle. However, the Caribbean dasher has yet to produce consistent scores and Mumbai subsequently haven't flourished at the top.

In addition to their woes at the top of the innings, the middle order, barring Rohit, has been largely vulnerable, too. Corey Anderson, who scored 2 half-centuries while his side batted first in the games against Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals, has been ruled out of the rest of the IPL season due to a fractured finger, and the hard-hitting Southpaw's absence could make MI's middle-order even more lightweight.

Kieron Pollard has been good this season, smacking two half-centuries and rendering much needed runs while batting in the No.5 and No.6 positions. If the Indians are to turn to their season around, Pollard's form with the bat will be rather indispensable.

It is the lack of contributions from batsmen other than the trio of Rohit, Anderson and Pollard, that has caused all sorts of problems for MI so far this season. Parthiv Patel isn't a power-hitter and, in trying to accelerate the scoring rate, the diminutive wicket-keeper batsman has failed to render any sort of substance while opening the batting.

Ambati Rayudu, a very important cog in the MI juggernaut since his debut season of 2010, hasn't delivered whenever his side has needed it the most, though his quick fire 29 off 16 balls against the Chennai Super Kings cannot go unnoticed.

Unmukt Chand scored an eye-catching 58 against the Royal Challengers Bangalore, when he batted in the No.3 position, found that balance between scoring boundaries and picking up singles to keep the scoreboard moving. But then, the 2012 U-19 world cup winning captain couldn't follow it up last night, which is disappointing.

In a nutshell: even though the Mumbai Indians have scored in excess of 160 in 4 of their 6 games so far, their batting has yet to fire as a unit and that simply cannot bode well for a team that needs to win close to 90% of its remaining games.

While the performances of the batting unit have not been good enough, the bowling department has yet to deliver even one convincing display so far in the tournament.

Harbhajan Singh is the leading wicket-taker in the side, taking 8 wickets and conceding a shade above 8 runs to the over.

Lasith Malinga has had a below-par season so far

Lasith Malinga, a backbone in MI's resurgence since the 3rd season of the IPL, has been woefully out of form. The likes of Steve Smith and Brendon McCullum have scored boundaries at will against the unorthodox Sri Lankan quickie who, in addition to not being able to pick wickets, has found it hard to keep things tight during his 4 overs. Malinga has picked up 6 wickets in 6 games so far but, more worryingly, has been conceding more than 8.3 runs to the over which simply hasn't been good enough for his side.

While Harbhajan and Malinga have not been at their best so far, the likes of Vinay Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Pawan Suyal and Jagadeesha Suchith have failed to come up with the goods. The aforementioned quartet have been taken for plenty of runs by opposition batsmen, and taken a mere 5 wickets between them although none of them have played in all 6 games.

Mitchell McClenaghan, the left-arm fast bowler from New Zealand, has bowled well in patches in his side's last two games, but even he has failed to stem the hemorrhage of boundaries.

The Mumbai bowling attack has taken more than 5 opposition wickets only on one occasion this season and it is easy to see why: Malinga has been far from his best so far; and the lack of a solid second spinner to deputize for the reliable Harbhajan, has meant that MI have struggled to keep a lid on the opposition scoring freely.

To compound matters for the two-time CL T20 winners, their fielding has let them down too on occasions. Against the Knight Riders in the opening game of the season, having piled up a competitive 168/3 on the board, the team's failure to hold on to its catches handed an easy victory to the defending IPL Champions. Their fielding hasn't improved since that defeat, either.

When I look at ways that MI can turn their season around, the bowling simply has got to come good sooner than later. The batting, despite its inconsistency, is in safe hands, though Ponting and co. need to sort out the opening combination.

Even though we are almost at the half-way mark in this year's IPL, it is tough to discern the minimum number of points Mumbai need from their remaining 7 games. But in all honesty, they ought to target a minimum of 6 victories from their remaining games and it will be a monumental achievement if they do make it to the playoffs this time around too.