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 Final - Preview: Mumbai Indians vs Chennai Super Kings

Mumbai-Chennai has always been a interesting match-up in the IPL

Mumbai Indians (MI) will square off against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) for the fourth time this season, although the stakes will be higher than the ever before when the sides meet at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata tomorrow, to decide who wins the 8th edition of the Pepsi Indian Premier League (IPL).

The Indians were the first team to qualify for the finals this season, after they beat the Super Kings by 25 runs at the Wankhede Stadium in the Qualifier 1 this past Tuesday.

Chennai, after losing to Mumbai, moved to Ranchi, their skipper's hometown, and awaited the winner of the eliminator that was played between Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) on Wednesday.

Virat Kohli's side won the eliminator emphatically, putting themselves in a virtual semifinal against MS Dhoni's devils, on Friday. The hosts - Chennai - played better on the night and went onto win the game by 3 wickets, setting up a date with Mumbai in the final on Sunday.

Both these sides have been involved in a couple of IPL finals before, with Chennai winning in 2010 and Mumbai beating Dhoni's side in 2013, when the final was played at the exact same venue where the sides will meet tomorrow night.

Will the script be different this time around? Can Mumbai beat Chennai for the third time in a row this season? Which team will feel confident ahead of the final showdown?

Answers to follow...

Mumbai

Rohit's captaincy and tactical acumen has been out of the top draw

Anybody who has followed this IPL season will need no reminding of Mumbai's renaissance, winning 88% of their last 9 games and thereby getting themselves into the third final in their history.

At the beginning of the season they failed as a team, with their batsmen failing to put up the runs on the board, the bowlers proving their ineptitude to pick wickets and on the field, they failed to hang onto the chances they were afforded.

Their first win of the campaign came against Bangalore, where their batsman put up a gargantuan total (209/7) on the board, with their openers providing a solid foundation for them and the likes of Unmukt Chand and Rohit playing ideal T20 innings' to provide their side that final push to such a massive total.

RCB did well for a major part of their chase, but Mumbai bowlers did enough to win the spoils for their team.

They had a few positives to come out of that game, in which Parthiv Patel and Lendl Simmons started forming a very good partnership at the top of the order and their bowling attack provided them with some sort of solidity compared to their previous outings.

Mumbai, however, could not replicate such form when they faced Delhi Daredevils (DD) at the Feroz Shah Kotla and suffered a massive defeat, their 4th in the first five games.

Things really started clicking into gear for Mumbai when Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) visited Wankhede and put up a really poor display with the bat; losing the game by 20 runs and helping the Indians kick start a 5-game winning run.

During that run, which saw them defeat the likes of Kings XI Punjab (KXIP), Rajasthan, Delhi, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Chennai, Patel and Simmons got their team off to many a good start; Hardik Pandya impressed massively with the bat while coming in at No.5 and No.6 positions; Ambati Rayudu punched above his weight and played a couple of match-winning innings, and Kieron Pollard did his bit with the bat, too.

Malinga's bowling form has improved with each passing game

The bowling remained a bit of a worry still, but Lasith Malinga has got into his bowling groove as the season has progressed, and in Mitchell McClenaghan, he has found a solid new ball bowling partner, who, without a smidgen of doubt, has been the talismanic figure in Mumbai's season.

The MI team management has also been rewarded for their persistence with Jagadeesha Suchith, who continues to impress with his calmness and willingness to bowl during the mandatory powerplay overs. Harbhajan Singh, the lead spinner in the side, has been a tad inconsistent this season, though he played a starring role with the ball in Mumbai beating Chennai to the finals and will look to repeat such a performance tomorrow.

The impressive aspect about Mumbai's season has been the way they have kept getting stronger as the season has progressed; they have been the more consistent of the two finalists during the second half of this IPL season, and though they have had to work hard for their victories, Rohit and company will be confident ahead of tomorrow's showdown.

Going into tomorrow's game, they have had an extra three days than their opponents to prepare and acclimatize to the conditions in Kolkata and that will be of slight advantage to them.

Also, Mumbai don't have any particular weakness in their probable playing XI, while Chennai have at least a couple of chinks in their armor: the middle order has failed to perform consistently and it remains to be seen if their bowling attack can pick wickets against an in-form Mumbai batting lineup, even though they have two of their bowlers - Ashish Nehra and Dwayne Bravo - in the top three leading wicket-takers of the tournament so far.

Batting remains Mumbai's strongest suit, and the batsmen will have to play their parts well if their side is to trounce Chennai once more and this time, go onto lift the crown.

Chennai

The South Indian franchise started off its campaign with a narrow victory at home against Delhi, following it up with 5 more wins against the likes of Sunrisers, Kings XI, Knight Riders, Mumbai and Royal Challengers in the first half of the league phase, with their solitary defeat coming against Rajasthan at the Motera, Ahmedabad.

Their season has waned off, though, since exhibiting such imperious form, the kind that was bettered only by Rajasthan, winning a mere 4 from their next 9 fixtures, including the defeat to the Indians in Qualifier 1 of IPL 2015.

Dhoni has massively underachieved with the bat, not helping Chennai middle order's cause

The reason for such a massive dip in form, as aforementioned, has been down to their middle order's ineptitude to score runs throughout this season; it was the opening duo of Brendon McCullum and Dwayne Smith, who got their team off to quick, as well as solid, starts, giving Chennai the upper hand very early on in their games.

McCullum, who had 436 runs to his name from 14 innings when he left Chennai to join up with the national squad, was in imperious form with the bat and Dhoni's side fed off the New Zealand skipper's swashbuckling innings' at the top of the order.

However, on occasions when their openers, either one or both of them, fell cheaply, Chennai struggled and that is how Rajasthan inflicted CSK's first defeat of the season.

There were, however, a couple of games - against Delhi in their very first fixture of the campaign and Kolkata later on, both at the MA Chidambaram Stadium - in which their bowlers stepped up to the plate and bailed them out of trouble.

Going into the finals against Mumbai, it will be interesting to see if the Chennai batsmen improve their game and deliver the goods when it matters the most.

Their bowling attack is suited to the conditions in Kolkata, where the slower bowlers of Chennai can hold their own, giving them a sense of optimism ahead of tomorrow's showdown.

In Pawan Negi, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Suresh Raina, Dhoni has 4 spinning options that will not make it easy for Mumbai to score quick runs, especially with the hosts carrying many a stroke-maker - Simmons, Patel, Pollard, Rohit and Pandya - in their batting lineup; this will be one of the major subplots to tomorrow's game.

Bravo has been a vital cog in Chennai's bowling attack

Chennai, however, do need wickets with the new ball, which, if they manage, will put Mumbai seriously on the back foot.

Simmons and Patel are in sublime touch at the top of the order, but dismissing them early will bring in Rohit and Rayudu to the middle, the kind of scenario that will suit the away side and help them control the game better than they managed in the first qualifier.

Chennai may not be in the best of form, going into the final of the 8th edition of the IPL. But a good start, either with the bat or ball, will make them feel comfortable and neutralize whatever advantage the hosts have over them prior to that first ball.

Final Thought

Let us also not forget the significance the toss carries, purely because of the nature of the playing surface that is generally on the slower side, assists the spinners and the bowlers who like to vary the pace of their deliveries.

It will be interesting to see what the captain who wins the toss does. While batting first is generally the way to go when you play at the Eden Gardens, there has been an obtrusive change to that pattern this season: the chasing side has won 4 of the 6 games played at the venue, with KKR successfully chasing scores over 160 to win the game on three occasions and the Royal Challengers brilliantly chasing down 179 against the home side in another game during the early stages of this season.

MI vs CSK in the finals of IPL 2015, should be an intriguing match-up that will have the hosts start as favorites ahead of the game. Chennai won't be too far behind, but they need a good start to bridge the slight gap between them and Mumbai.

IPL 2015, Match 56 Preview: Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Mumbai Indians

Royals were the second team to qualify for the IPL playoffs

Even after the completion of 54 games in the 8th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), two playoff spots are up for grabs, with three teams - Mumbai Indians (MI), Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) - vying for that 2nd, 3rd and 4th places in the IPL points table.

From Mumbai's perspective, the equation is straightforward: win against the Sunrisers, and you are guaranteed of a spot in the playoffs for the sixth consecutive season.

The visitors, though, have a massive proposition in front of them, as the hosts were quite unlucky to lose against the Royal Challengers on Friday and are a vastly improved unit since the last time these sides met at the Wankhede Stadium.

The Indians, on their own, have done well to be in 5th place on the points table, after losing their first four games and looking absolutely clueless as a unit.

It has been great recovery from both these teams that will look to knock each other out of the competition when they face off at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad tonight. Which side will prevail, playing their best cricket under such extreme pressure? Read on...

Hyderabad

This South-Indian franchise has a chance of making it to the playoffs for the second time in their history since the change in ownership prior to the start of the 2013 season.

This season, in particular, the Sunrisers have played an eccentric brand of cricket under the leadership of David Warner, who, with 556 runs to his name, is the leading run-scorer in this edition of the IPL.

The Australian left-hander has got his side off to many a quick start at the top of the order, along with Shikhar Dhawan, who himself has scored over 350 runs.

However, Sunrisers were all about their openers, and the rest of that batting lineup didn't deliver, for most part of the first half of their campaign.

Things, however, have turned around for the good and the injection of Moises Henriques in that No.3 position has paid rich dividends.

Moises Henriques has helped his side turnaround their form

The New South Wales all-rounder has got runs (276 in just 8 innings) with the bat, and accrued 11 wickets, as well, averaging more than 1 wicket-per-game in his 8 outings for SRH.

Eoin Morgan has come in place of fellow countryman Ravi Bopara, featuring in most of his side's games in the second half of the ongoing season.

His inclusion in the playing XI has added more firepower to the Sunrisers' batting lineup, but the Irish-born batsman would have wanted to contribute more than one 50+ score he has managed in the tournament so far.

The aforementioned quartet has to come good with the bat tonight, if their side is to pip Mumbai and march onto the IPL playoffs for the second time in their history.

The Sunrisers' bowling attack has been spearheaded by Bhuvneshwar Kumar who, with 18 wickets to his name, is fourth on the list of contenders for the Purple Cap in this year's Pepsi IPL.

It has been a bit tricky for Sunrisers in selecting one amongst Trent Boult and Dale Steyn, who has played in just 5 games this season while the New Zealander has featured in 7 of the 13 SRH games so far.

For tonight, however, Steyn will maintain his place in the playing XI, as Boult has joined with the national squad in England ahead of the Test series that begins at the Lord's on the 21st of May.

The likes of Praveen Kumar and Karn Sharma have bowled to the best of their abilities, picking 7 and 9 wickets respectively.

Going into tonight's game, as aforementioned, their batting lineup has to come good. They would relish batting first if the opportunity comes along too, as 6 of their 7 victories in the tournament have come while they have put a total on the board.

Mumbai are a dangerous side to play against, especially with Kieron Pollard and Hardik Pandya striking form just at the right moment in their side's nail-biting victory against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). However, when Sunrisers bowl, early wickets are going to be the key to causing problems in the MI ranks.

Mumbai

The Indians' season has in many ways been akin to the Sunrisers', but they have looked a better all-round side since they got their act together and started to win games consistently.

The openers - Parthiv Patel and Lendl Simmons - deserve great credit for the kind of starts they have rendered Mumbai over the last 6-7 games, with the left-hander in particular scoring quick runs while Simmons has taken his time to settle down and play a long innings.

In the MI middle-order, Ambati Rayudu has shone as a batsman during the second half of the season, which has seen him play many a match-winning knock against the likes of Delhi Daredevils (DD), Rajasthan Royals (RR) and the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) (at the MA Chidambaram Stadium).

Pandya's batting has been so invigorating to watch

Further down the batting order, Pandya has played that 'aggressor role' to perfection in the latter stages of his side's innings; he has shown a good head on his shoulders, too.

Rohit Sharma has disappointed with the bat since scoring that magnificent 98* against the Knight Riders in the season opener at the Eden Gardens. He will look to come good tonight, and find some form before the playoffs, if Mumbai do get there.

Pollard had a mighty important role to play, both with the bat and ball, in his side's last game and will be a confident man going into tonight's game.

Such a batting order will hold Mumbai in good stead against the Sunrisers.

MI's bowling attack has had a mixed bag throughout this IPL, but they have delivered results for their side whenever needed.

Lasith Malinga, after being woefully out of form early on in the campaign, has comeback strongly and led the MI attack like he has done over the years.

He has been well complemented by Mitchell McClenaghan who, with 11 wickets from 9 games, has added more muscle to the Mumbai bowling attack that was taken to the cleaners by the likes of Super Kings, Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) and Knight Riders during that 4 game win-less run at the very beginning of this season.

Harbhajan Singh and Jagadeesha Suchith have done reasonably well, though the Turbanator has not been consistent and failed to bowl to his reputation on many an occasion this season.

Suchith, the left-arm spinner from Karnataka, has shown good maturity, particularly while bowling in the powerplay overs where Rohit has sought to use him for two overs, at least.

Vinay Kumar has featured in 10 of his side's 13 games, but has been the weak link of this attack, picking up a mere four wickets and conceding close to 8.50 runs per over.

Going into tonight's game, the Indians will be relatively confident of upstaging the hosts and making it to the playoffs for the sixth consecutive season.

They, however, need to remind themselves that things aren't going to be easy against a Hyderabad side packed with stroke-makers, who will hold the key to their side's chances of winning this game.

Like the Sunrisers, Mumbai will rely on their batsman to rise up to the plate and deliver in a crunch game like this.

Final Thought

We should be in for a very competitive game of T20 cricket, with the visitors starting as favorites to make their way into the playoffs.

No disrespect to the Sunrisers, whose strength lies in their batting and the top order, led by Warner, has to come good, if the hosts are to pose serious problems for Mumbai.

The wicket in Hyderabad is a placid one to bat on

The wicket at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium is a very good one to bat on, therefore, whichever bowling attack comes out on top will most likely win it for their side.

IPL 2015, Match 51: Five Things We Learned From Mumbai Indians' Victory Over Kolkata Knight Riders

Pollard bowled a brilliant last over, to win it for Mumbai

Mumbai Indians (MI) kept their hopes of making it to the playoffs alive, overcoming a really strong Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) side by 5 runs in Match 51 of this season's Pepsi Indian Premier League (IPL).

It turned out to be an enthralling game of cricket in the end, with both sides making mistakes throughout their respective batting and bowling innings and the crowd at the Wankhede Stadium surely got their moneys worth.

It was a must win game for Mumbai while Kolkata, with 15 points to their name, were not in a do-or-die situation.

Gautam Gambhir won the toss and chose to bowl first on a slightly two-paced Wankhede track. The visitors brought in Shakib Al Hasan for Brad Hogg and Morne Morkel came in place of Johan Botha, as the two changes in personnel for the Knight Riders.

Mumbai, as we have seen for much of this season already, simply do not have too many resources to call upon, and ended up bringing Vinay Kumar back into the playing XI, at the expense of Jasprit Bumrah, who failed to harness the opportunity he was handed against the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) four nights back.

The hosts started off their innings at a good clip, with Parthiv Patel leading the way and getting those boundaries early on in the innings. Lendl Simmons never got his timing right on the night, and was dismissed after scoring just 14 (16).

Parthiv played a loose shot after looking so good for his 21 (13), and Mumbai were in a spot of bother when their openers fell in subsequent overs of their innings.

Things didn't get better thereafter, either, with Ambati Rayudu playing a careless shot and holding out at long-off; Rohit Sharma batted really well while he was in the middle, scoring 30 (21) and played a huge role in steadying the MI ship along with Kieron Pollard.

The Mumbai batsman, however, was dismissed by an absolute peach from Sunil Narine, who didn't threaten too much otherwise, as he was taken for 38 off his four overs.

With the home side reeling at 79/4 in the 12th over, it was down to Pollard to strike some lusty blows and conjure up a total somewhere close to 150; however, it was the other way around last night, with Pollard struggling to find his touch and Hardik Pandya playing the innings of an aggressor.

Pandya's innings was a real mature one, as he soaked up the pressure early on in the innings and went for the boundaries only after the 15th over.

The home side scored 72 off the last five overs, finishing with 171/4 at the end of 20 overs. It was a competitive total that would have made Mumbai happier than KKR, for whom it was a crime to concede so many runs.

172, though, was not a big target by any means, and with the kind of firepower and depth the visitors' batting lineup exuded, you had to fancy them to get the victory and put MI out of the reckoning for the playoffs.

However, it really didn't pan out that way and Mumbai's bowlers did enough to keep their side in it throughout Kolkata's innings.

They kept chipping away at the wickets, though the trio of Yusuf Pathan 52 (38), Gambhir 38 (29) and Shakib 23 (15) kept hitting the boundaries and never allowed that required run-rate to jump over 10.

Therefore, it was pressure on Mumbai, whose bowling attack, apart from Lasith Malinga, flattered to deceive: Harbhajan Singh had an ordinary outing; Vinay didn't threaten his former IPL side, and was quite lucky to dismiss Shakib; Jagadeesha Suchith just bowled the two overs, but got the crucial wicket of Gambhir, and Mitchell McClenaghan didn't get his lines right, though he dismissed Suryakumar Yadav at a crucial juncture in the game.

The home side had to thank Pollard for the way he came and delivered that final over, winning the game for his side and keeping their hopes of making it to the playoffs alive.

In hindsight, what did we learn from a decent MI performance? Read on...

Mumbai, without a shadow of doubt, got out of jail

Mumbai definitely felt the pressure of a must win game last night, and it had an impeding effect on their overall performance.

They got over the line in the end, but not by their own brilliance.

I have repeatedly felt that Mumbai's strongest suit was their batting, and therefore, should be injecting an extra batsman in their playing XI, instead of Vinay, who simply has not done well.

Pandya did bail them out of trouble yesterday, but what if Pollard was dismissed by the barrage of short-deliveries he had to deal with from the KKR bowlers? Or, what if the youngster did something rash, in a bid to up the scoring rate?

An extra batsman in such a situation can always be advantageous, but the MI think-tank has simply been hesitant to go for an extra batsman after the initial few games of the ongoing season. Mumbai's team selection was their first mistake on the night.

It has been so surprising to see Mumbai drop as many catches as they have done this season: the likes of Harbhajan usually pose a safe pair of hands, but has dropped many a catch already this IPL.

Mumbai got out of jail on many an occasion last night

Yesterday it was the turn of Pandya to put down a dolly from Gambhir, who wanted to hit Suchith out of the attack. Thankfully for Pandya and Mumbai, the Delhi Southpaw played a reckless shot in the very next delivery and threw his wicket away; that wicket came at a time when KKR, with Pathan and Gambhir in the middle, threatened to take the game away from the home side. Gambhir's wicket was the second time that MI got a reprieve last night.

On another day, it could have cost the home side. But they need to reflect on these aspects of their game before taking on Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on Sunday.

The home side didn't get their strategy right with the bat

Having been put into bat by the visitors, the onus was on Mumbai to set a target in excess of 180 at the very least.

KKR though, with their potent bowling attack, were never going to make it easy for the hosts.

Gambhir rotated his bowlers well, and they responded promptly to their skipper's tactics.

Lendl Simmons couldn't set a solid platform for his side, as he has done previously

Mumbai batsmen - Simmons, Parthiv and Rayudu, in particular - gave you the impression that they were trying too hard and wanted to dominate the KKR attack, which was not the right ploy.

MI, throughout this IPL, have done well when they have batted first and not lost many wickets in the first half of their innings.

However, for some reason, last night they didn't want to stay in the crease for long and thereby put pressure on the KKR bowlers to dismiss them; instead, they gifted them with wickets and played it into the visitors' hands, until Pandya and Pollard got into a partnership of sorts for the fifth wicket.

Rayudu, who has done really well over the last five games, was a major disappointment for me. He simply didn't need to play such a stroke when his side had lost 2 wickets for less than 50 runs, and he joined Rohit in the middle only five balls earlier.

Maybe MI felt that, with Rohit holding fort at the other end, one batsman in every partnership needed to be aggressive and concentrate on scoring quick runs, but the shots they played were reckless and I don't think it was the right way to do it.

Pollard-Pandya partnership turned the game on its head

Continuing on from the last point, Mumbai lost three wickets with just 47 on the board and had 81 balls more to play in their innings.

Pollard walked into bat at No.5, and probably was the crucial batsman in his partnership with Rohit. The hard-hitting West Indian is at his lethal best when he doesn't have to worry about preserving his wicket, but it was not a viable scenario for him to come in.

Rohit did bat well while he was there in the middle but, again, he got out at totally the wrong stage of MI's innings that just about started gathering momentum.

Pandya's partnership with Pollard was mighty pivotal in the context of the game

The scorecard read 79/4 in the 12th over when the MI skipper was castled by Narine, with an unplayable carom ball that was bowled at the right pace, length and line, giving no chance for Rohit to survive.

It was a precarious situation for the home side that was fighting for its life, and lost by far the most significant batsman in the side.

Pandya, though, came in and stemmed the flow of wickets, which was the marquee feature of his innings last night.

He scored 4 runs from his first 6 balls, and his first boundary came in 7th ball he faced. The period from 12th to the 15th or even the 16th over, was going to be crucial to Mumbai, who had to ensure that they didn't lose one more wicket. And Pandya and Pollard were sensible in the way they managed it.

Now, while Pandya played 'the' innings that propelled Mumbai's score to 171, let us not forget the anchor role played to perfection by Pollard at the other end. He didn't score too many runs, and ended up with only 33 (38), but his presence in the middle was crucial to Mumbai and made sure that KKR couldn't breathe easy.

It was that dimension of this partnership which helped Pandya to feed off the situation and use it to his, as well as Mumbai's, advantage.

Pollard and Pandya put together a 92-run partnership in 50 balls for the 5th wicket, and took MI to a total that they could compete with. It was a pivotal partnership in the overall context of the game, and it is safe to say KKR didn't see that coming.

Rohit's captaincy was audacious and spot on

Rohit was spot on with his bowling changes last night

It can be difficult for a captain when his side is relying on one or two bowlers heavily, and the others in the bowling attack are contributing very little to the team's cause.

Rohit has been in that situation on many an occasion this season; he has had to be precise and clever with his bowling changes, and yesterday, in particular, he shone in that aspect of his leadership.

He didn't have a big total to play with and had to go for wickets against a very long KKR batting lineup.

Rohit once again relied on Malinga for wickets, and the unorthodox Sri Lankan quickie bowled 2 of his overs right at the beginning of the innings.

McClenaghan too, bowled 2 of his overs at the beginning of the innings, which meant that two of MI's best bowlers completed half their quota of overs well before the halfway mark in KKR's innings and more importantly, hadn't picked up a single wicket.

Therefore, the likes of Vinay and Suchith had to be relied on more than in the former games, while wickets were also expected of Harbhajan, who had two ordinary games back-to-back against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and the Royal Challengers.

The Knight Riders did well to not lose wickets during the early part of their innings, which put extreme pressure on the home side.

Rohit kept looking for wickets and his bowlers, though fortunate, responded with crucial blows of Robin Uthappa and Manish Pandey, who was run out by Simmons, both the wickets falling in the sixth over of the visitors' innings.

Even after the fall of the two Karnataka batsmen in the same over, Rohit didn't relent and kept bowling Harbhajan from one end. The Turbanator finished his 4 overs on the trot and, as aforementioned, didn't bowl as he would have liked, finishing with figures of 4-0-31-1.

Suchith picked up Gambhir in his second over, and the 11th over of KKR's innings, but the visitors still had Shakib, Andre Russell and S Yadav in the hut and were well in control of chase too, needing a mere 84 from the last 9 overs.

Pathan stood tall and though he didn't play as explosively as he usually does, his presence in the middle was crucial in the overall context of the game.

Rohit, therefore, had to bring McClenaghan and Malinga back for their respective second spells as early as the 14th and 16th over.

At the other end, he was being let down by Vinay, who, even though he picked up Shakib's wicket, was expensive in his last over - KKR's 17th - which went for 14 runs and got the equation firmly in favor of the visitors.

The decision to bowl Malinga in the 16th over paid off, and he picked up Russell for just 2, despite conceding 8 runs.

McClenaghan bowled the 18th over and dismissed S Yadav, who threatened to kill MI's hopes of making it to the playoffs. He had scored 11 from his first 4 deliveries, including a couple of boundaries, but the New Zealand seamer picked him up in the first delivery of his final over.

It was then that it got a bit dicey for Rohit, who had to search for a bowler, apart from Suchith and Pandya, to bowl one of the two overs - 19th and 20th.

He brought Malinga on for the penultimate over, which cost 9 runs for the home side, and it was massive in the context of the game. Rohit, though, didn't have an option, as he only had 21 runs to play with in the final two overs.

Instead of going to Pandya or Suchith for the final over, Rohit took the gamble of turning to Pollard, who, it has to be said, was extremely calm under pressure. He got Pathan's wicket in the very first delivery of his over, and it felt like the game had come under the home side's control.

However, in the next delivery Umesh Yadav scored a boundary thanks to some flimsy fielding from Malinga at short fine-leg, and the game was not over yet, with KKR needing 8 runs from the final 4 deliveries.

Pollard was calmness personified, though, and bowled brilliantly to Piyush Chawla, who couldn't put bat to ball in almost every one of the deliveries he faced in his innings last night.

While you could complement the bowlers for performing in the manner they did, Rohit's captaincy was rather commendable and his tactical decisions proved critical to Mumbai's victory.

The Indians once again showed their adeptness in winning a close game

Mumbai have been excellent in winning cliffhangers this season

Mumbai came out on top in what happened to be a very close game to call. It was far from a clinical performance from Rohit's men, but, in crucial moments of the game, they held their nerve and continued to pick wickets.

Pollard - in his post-match interview - mentioned that it was important for them to get over the line, no matter how they managed it, and the manner of yesterday's victory will give them a great deal of confidence going into the final league game that, without a smidgen of skepticism, will have a lot riding on it too.

Final Thought

MI still need a few results to go their way in order for them to make it to the playoffs.

However, having won yesterday's game, their confidence must be quite high, heading into the game against SRH on Sunday.

They are yet to get their team combination right, but if their batting can fire, Mumbai will fancy their chances of winning that last game and hopefully, other results going their way, make it to the playoffs for the sixth consecutive season.

IPL 2015: What Are Mumbai Indians' Chances Of Qualifying For The Playoffs?

Rohit Sharma despises losing control of their own destiny, with a loss to RCB last Sunday

Mumbai Indians (MI) suffered a morale-denting defeat to Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) last Sunday, and now have to rely on other teams' results to have any chances of making it to the last four in this season's Pepsi Indian Premier League (IPL).

Mumbai were doing so well until before the game against the Royal Challengers, as they had won all their previous five fixtures and 12 points to their name after 11 games.

The batting lineup, led by the in form opening duo of Parthiv Patel and Lendl Simmons, have struck form; the bowling attack, led by Lasith Malinga, has started picking wickets; the fielding, however, has been shocking to say the least. But as a unit, Mumbai have improved leaps and bounds as the season has progressed.

Last Sunday's game against RCB was such a pivotal fixture, and the Indians knew it, despite clinching a brilliant victory against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) a couple of days earlier.

It was all down to an astonishing AB de Villiers show, with the South African scoring a blistering 133 (59) and escalating his side's total to a mammoth 235/1 from 20 overs.

MI bowlers had no answer to de Villiers, but the home side was guilty of dropping Virat Kohli, de Villiers' batting partner, when the Delhi dasher gave an easy catch to Harbhajan Singh at first slip in just the third over of the game.

236 was a daunting total to chase and, barring a miracle, Mumbai were always going to come up short.

Another significant dimension to this game was that of the net-run-rate for Mumbai: by way of those five consecutive victories they had managed to bring down the negative net run rate, but a significant loss to the Challengers by 39 runs, saw their run-rate dwindle further to -0.302.

Midst all such odds, what are MI's chances of making it to the last four for the sixth consecutive season? Which are the teams Mumbai can depend on, to clinch that 3rd or 4th spot? Can they do it?

Read on... to get the answers.

Scenario concerning Mumbai in IPL 8

Mumbai, who are currently in 6th place on the IPL points table, have two games - at home against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and away to Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) - left to play, and the maximum number of points they can get to, at the end of 14 games, is 16.

Their upcoming opponents are in very good nick, and won't be easy to beat, at all.

As of now, no IPL side is assured of a playoff spot, though CSK sit on top of the table with 16 points, and are followed by KKR with 15 points, as the teams with the most number of points at this very moment.

However, since the Super Kings have a positive net-run-rate (+0.813) and already 16 points under their belt, it will be extremely difficult for Mumbai to catch them, with the South Indian franchise still having two games in hand.

Mumbai play KKR at the Wankhede Stadium on Thursday, and got to beat Gautam Gambhir's side to keep their chances alive.

But, sadly, even if they do manage to beat them, the Knight Riders will still have a game to play against Rajasthan Royals (RR) and the potential of reaching 17 points, which is beyond the reach of Mumbai.

Next up on the table are the Royals, whose season has waned away after registering victories in each of their first five fixtures; they now sit in third place with 14 points to their name and have just one game left to play.

Rajasthan, with their defeat to Chennai, have handed Mumbai a major boost

Therefore, they, like Mumbai, can only get to 16 points, though they have a positive net-run-rate of +0.027.

Royals' fixture against Knight Riders is one which Mumbai will definitely keep an eye on, provided that they beat the Shah Rukh Khan-owned franchise on Thursday.

If Mumbai beat Kolkata on Thursday and KKR defeat Royals a couple of days later, RR will most likely be out of the reckoning.

On the flip side, if KKR lose both their games and Mumbai win their remaining two, Kolkata, currently with 15 points, will go below Mumbai, who then might have a better chance of making it to the last four.

The other two sides that hold the key to Mumbai's chances of making it to the playoffs are the Royal Challengers and Sunrisers.

Sunrisers have 14 points from 12 games, including a slightly better net-run-rate of -0.017. Their two remaining games are against RCB and MI, which makes this scenario all the more engrossing to work out.

SRH, despite currently having more points than both Mumbai and Bangalore, might have to win each one of those two games, as they both are against teams that are fighting for a place in the playoffs.

From Mumbai's perspective, they will have control over Sunrisers' passage into the playoffs, as they play against them this upcoming Sunday.

However, Mumbai's net-run-rate is way below Sunrisers', which might hold the key to this tussle between these two teams vying for a top four spot.

Shifting focus to RCB, they are in a very good position compared to their rivals for the playoffs. They have only played 11 games, but already have 13 points to their name.

Therefore, two wins from their remaining three games would take them beyond MI's reach, which is why it was pivotal for Mumbai to win against Kohli's men last Sunday.

Also, since RCB only have one game against a direct playoff rival in Sunrisers, Mumbai cannot expect to benefit too much from the Challengers' upcoming fixtures.

Final Thought

Last IPL season, which also followed this 8-team format, 14 points were enough for Mumbai to reach the playoffs as the last entrant.

This season, however, even 16 points may not be enough for a team looking to making it to the last four.

Mumbai will first have to win their remaining two games, before they can hope for other results to go their way.

They also got to keep an eye on their current net-run-rate and somehow turn it into a positive net-run-rate, which might well decide this battle for a place in the IPL 8 playoffs.

The Royals and Sunrisers, more than any other IPL side, will hold the key to Mumbai's chances of making it to the playoffs. Rajasthan can only reach 16 points, even if they win against KKR on Saturday.

Sunrisers, even if they beat the Royal Challengers, will have to play Mumbai and it could become a straight shootout between those two teams.

Indian Premier League 2015, 32nd Match Preview: Mumbai Indians vs Rajasthan Royals

Mumbai batsmen, starting with Rohit, need to pull up their socks

Mumbai Indians (MI) kick start their second phase of this season's Pepsi Indian Premier League with a home game against Rajasthan Royals (RR) on Friday.

Mumbai are yet to post back-to-back victories this season, and will be looking to do just that when the Royals travel to the Wankhede Stadium tomorrow.

The Royals, on other hand, come into this game on the back of two washed out fixtures, including yesterday's against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), and may just be feeling a bit desperate to play a full game.

These two sides produced a humdinger in the corresponding fixture at the Wankhede last season, and with the race for top 4 intensifying with each passing game; could we be in for another exhilarating contest?

Read on...as we get an understanding of how the sides stack up against each other, heading into tomorrow night's encounter.

Mumbai

MI's victories this season have come while they have batted first and put up competitive totals on the board.

Lendl Simmons starred with half-centuries in his side's victories against RCB and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and, just as it was season, is a vital cog in this stuttering Mumbai outfit.

Rohit Sharma and Kieron Pollard have been the two other MI batsmen to have made substantial contributions, with each one of them scoring over 200 runs so far in the tournament.

Although the aforementioned trio will once again hold the key against the Royals, the likes of Unmukt Chand, Parthiv Patel and Ambati Rayudu, if they play, ought to stand up and score runs for the team.

Chand, in particular, needs to score runs, as his tally of 89 runs from 4 innings, including a half-century against the Royal Challengers, doesn't reflect his potential and batting position (No.3) in the side.

If he comes good with the bat, not only will Mumbai score a lot more runs as a batting unit, but the likes of Pollard and Rohit, who are the power-hitters in the side, can play carefree cricket which will only bring the best of them.

The bowling attack has also failed to deliver except for one game against Sunrisers, who couldn't chase down a mere 158 in MI's last game.

Lasith Malinga, however, found some form in that game, picking up 4 wickets, and was tremendously backed up by Mitchell McClenaghan, who picked up 3 wickets himself.

Harbhajan Singh, despite having a poor outing against SRH, is the second highest wicket-taker, behind Malinga's 10, with 8 wickets under his belt so far. Harbhajan has also made crucial runs with the bat in certain games, and will be crucial to MI's success during the second phase of this season.

The trio of Malinga, McClenaghan and Harbhajan are certainties in Mumbai's playing XI, but which two bowlers complete the 5-man bowling attack Ricky Ponting and Rohit covet?

Jagadeesha Suchith bowled well in the win over SRH and exudes a calm head on his shoulders. If I was part of the team management, I would stick with him, solely on the basis of his performance in the last game.

Vinay Kumar, having taken just 1 wicket in 5 games and conceding close to 8 runs per over, is the weak link as far as Mumbai's bowling attack is concerned.

The alternatives for Vinay - Jasprit Bumrah, Pawan Suyal, Shreyas Gopal - haven't done well whenever they have been given chances, so it will be a tricky decision for the team management to take. But the Karnataka seamer, without a shadow of doubt, is the weak link in the bowling department.

Going into this game, I have no doubt that the batting lineup has to step up and deliver. The bowling attack, despite the presence of Malinga, McClenaghan and Harbhajan, remains Mumbai's weakest point, and looks likely to only feed off big totals set by the batsmen.

Rajasthan

The Royals are the team to have played the most games (9) already this season.

They won their first five games and had that invincibility about them, as they bulldozed the likes of Chennai Super Kings (CSK), Kings XI Punjab (KXIP), Delhi Daredevils (DD) and Mumbai - teams that couldn't stand up to the might of Rajasthan.

Two of Royals' last four games have been washed out

The last four games, however, haven't gone to plan, as they lost in the super over to the Kings XI and were handed a thrashing at the Motera by Virat Kohli and company. Those two defeats have been followed by two washouts, keeping RR win-less for four games now.

The Royals though, unlike Mumbai, do not have major problems concerning them.

Ajinkya Rahane, their opening batsman, is the Orange Cap holder with 323 runs under his belt.

Though the other batsmen haven't exactly played to potential so far, their contributions - even if for one game - helped Rajasthan win the games in which they fired with the bat.

Steve Smith, despite having scored just 172 runs in 7 innings so far, engineered his side to victory with a 53-ball 79 against Mumbai when these sides met at the Motera earlier this season.

Shane Watson, in his very first game of the season, scored a 47-ball 73 to guide his side to an 8-wicket victory over CSK.

However, the Royals' middle-order packed with exuberant Indian talents in Sanju Samson, Deepak Hooda and Karun Nair, has yet to fire, and it could be one area for Mumbai to exploit the visitors tomorrow. Pick early wickets and get a stranglehold of the game, is what the hosts will be telling themselves right now.

Coming to the Royals' bowling, Pravin Tambe, the 44-year old leg-spinner, is the leading wicket-taker with 8 wickets to his name.

However, the likes of Tim Southee, James Faulkner, Dhawal Kulkarni and Watson himself, make up a good bowling attack that will fancy its chances under lights at the Wankhede.

Compared to Mumbai, Rajasthan look a well-balanced side, even though they too have a few weaknesses in their arsenal.

Also, having gone win-less in 4 games, there could be a smidgen of apprehension in the Royals' ranks, meaning that MI will be in with a shout if they play to potential.

Possible playing XIs

Mumbai: R Sharma (C), P Patel (WK), L Simmons, U Chand, K Pollard, A Rayudu, Hardik Pandya, H Singh, L Malinga, M McClenaghan and J Suchith.

Rajasthan: S Watson (C), A Rahane, S Smith, D Hooda, K Nair, Stuart Binny, S Samson (WK), J Faulkner, T Southee, P Tambe and D Kulkarni.

Final Thought

Aditya Tare was the hero in the corresponding fixture last season

Mumbai are yet to produce one comprehensive display in the 7 games they have played so far. From the Indians' perspective, it is now or never time for them and it remains to be seen whether they are up for this crunch situation.

Rajasthan are in second place on the table and do not have the kind of pressure their Friday's opponents are under. That could give them the edge over tomorrow's hosts.

This should be an intriguing fixture; but Rajasthan, with a more-balanced look to their side, start as favorites for this encounter at the Wankhede tomorrow.

Indian Premier League: Five Talking Points From Mumbai Indians' Victory Over Sunrisers Hyderabad

Mumbai Indians' bowling, spearheaded by Malinga, came good yesterday

Mumbai Indians (MI) registered their second win of this season's Indian Premier League (IPL), as they comfortably overcame an ordinary Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) side by 20 runs at the Wankhede Stadium yesterday.

Rohit Sharma chose to bat first after winning the toss, but his side could manage only 157/8, which was a below par score on a pitch that was on the slower side.

In reply, Sunrisers got off to a blistering start, with Shikhar Dhawan striking boundaries at will and taking the attack to Harbhajan Singh in particular, as the visitors raced to 50 well within the powerplay which, however, accounted for both the Sunrisers' openers.

Mumbai started growing in confidence at the fall of Dhawan for 42, as they succeeded in choking up the runs while also picking wickets at regular intervals, eventually going onto win the game by 20 runs.

In retrospect, what did we learn from that MI performance which... well, was good enough on the day?

MI still cannot get their team combination right

Prior to the game, I felt that the 1-time IPL winners needed a fresh opening pair. Parthiv Patel, who is experiencing a below-par IPL season with the bat, isn't the kind of batsman who will give you blistering starts at the top of the innings.

Having been handed a 5th consecutive opportunity in the playing XI, the diminutive southpaw scored a run-a-ball 17, failing to rotate strike and not playing the ideal foil for Lendl Simmons.

Also, in the bowling department, the selection of Vinay Kumar, who had picked up just 1 wicket and an economy rate of over 8 in the 4 games prior to yesterday, was inexplicable. The decision to sacrifice a batsman (Hardik Pandya) in order to make space for a bowler was not wrong, but the choice of replacement was definitely not the right one.

Jagadeesha Suchith, who replaced Jasprit Bumrah, bowled well and played a significant role in Mumbai getting a stranglehold of proceedings during the middle stages of the visitors' innings.

Fortuitously for the home side, none of their selection blunders cost them yesterday.

Mumbai's approach to their batting innings was plain cynical

Rohit, at the toss, said that his side would be cautious upfront, not lose wickets and pull the trigger during the latter stages of their innings.

Having not got off to good starts so far in the season, it was probably a sensible approach, which was executed to perfection by both the Mumbai openers.

However, the Indians left themselves with too much to do in the second-half of their innings. They reached 72/2 at the end of 10 overs and had Simmons and Rohit in the middle, but the nature of the surface was such that it got harder to score runs as the ball got older and older, a pattern that Rohit was well aware of before the game.

In addition to the slow playing surface on offer, Mumbai had to contend with a good Sunrisers' bowling attack that did not have a weak link in it, and on their own, they were a batsman short.

Taking these aspects into consideration, it was tough to understand why Mumbai took the defensive approach at the beginning of the innings, and found themselves way behind the eight ball going into the last 10 overs.

Simmons' form is a major positive

The Caribbean opener came up with a well-compiled knock of 51(42) that, in a way, held the innings together.

Simmons' 51(42) was crucial in the context of the game

On a slow surface it was crucial for the hosts that one batsman anchored the innings, which Simmons did.

When Dale Steyn dismissed the right-hander, Mumbai had reached 100/3 after 12.3 overs but could muster a mere 57 off the remaining 45 deliveries, highlighting the significance of the 30-year old's innings at the top of the order.

In the coming games, Simmons' form will be crucial to Mumbai's chances of surging upwards in the league table. With Rohit slotting himself at No.4, MI need a batsman, who can score quick runs and also face a good portion of the team's 20 overs, at the top of the order.

Simmons suffered an injury on his right leg while trying to stop a boundary, and went off the field with 5-6 overs to go. The Indians would be hoping that he is fit to play for them against the Rajasthan Royals (RR) on May Day.

The bowling lineup came good...finally

Though the batting unit hasn't really delivered except for one game against the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), the bowling attack has had some serious questions asked of it.

With the batting unit once again failing to put up a decent score on the board, the onus was on MI's bowling to come up with a match-winning effort, and Lasith Malinga and co. did just that.

Harbhajan had a disappointing outing, conceding easy boundaries to Dhawan, who accrued 18 runs off the Turbanator's second over. Though the off-spinner came back well in his last two overs, he ended up conceding 36 off his 4 overs.

Mitchell McClenaghan and Malinga were the standout bowlers, who picked up 7 wickets between them and conceded a mere 43 runs in their 8 overs.

McClenaghan, in particular, bowled very well and dismissed some of the key SRH batsmen - Dhawan, K Lokesh Rahul and Ravi Bopara - at various stages during the innings.

Malinga took 3 wickets in his last over, and also accounted for David Warner at the beginning of Sunrisers' innings.

Suchith bowled an economic four over spell that was taken for only 25 runs, with Naman Ojha also getting out to the Karnataka spinner.

Mumbai Indians cannot read too much into their victory yesterday

It wouldn't be unfair of any of us to say that MI were a tad lucky to register their second win of this IPL season. 

The batting unit did not put up even a competitive score on the board, with Simmons and Kieron Pollard being the only batsmen who, with scores of 51 and 33 respectively, gave some respectability to the MI innings. 

And although the bowling attack delivered a good performance when it was needed the most, Sunrisers, once the duo of Warner and Dhawan got out, didn't even have one good batsman, who could have given the MI bowlers something to think about, in their middle and lower middle order.

Mumbai are yet to get their playing XI right too, meaning that they cannot be overly buoyant with the result yesterday.

There is plenty of work to be done.

Final Thought

With 5 more days to go before Mumbai face Rajasthan at the Wankhede Stadium, Ricky Ponting and company would be pleased about the victory last evening.

MI probably do not possess a quality squad like the Chennai Super Kings's or the Kings XI Punjab's. But, if they can get the balance of their playing XI spot on and build on from yesterday's victory over the Sunrisers, it would not be beyond them to make it to the playoffs for the sixth season running. 

Indian Premier League (IPL): Can The Mumbai Indians Get Their Act Together Against Sunrisers Hyderabad?

Rohit has to continue performing with the bat for the Mumbai Indians

After playing two back-to-back away games, Mumbai Indians (MI) will return to their fortress, the Wankhede Stadium, to take on the mercurial Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) later today.

The Indians' only victory of the campaign came against the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), which was a closely contested battle at the Chinnaswamy Stadium where the visitors that day did well to pile on an impressive 209 on the board and followed it up with a decent bowling effort to restrict the Challengers to 191, going on to win the game by 18 runs.

Mumbai have been overwhelmed in each of their other 5 games, as they just haven't been able to deliver with either the bat, ball or on the field.

However, having said that, the likes of Harbhajan Singh, skipper Rohit Sharma and Kieron Pollard have come good on occasions during this campaign and will hope to contribute to the team's cause once again against the Sunrisers.

More than the individual performances, from MI's perspective: the question is whether everyone in that playing XI can contribute in some way or another, starting today against SRH? Read on... as we try to discern what the 1-time IPL winners need to do in order to get their second win of the campaign.

The foremost concern for the Indians going into today's game will be the nature of the playing surface at the Wankhede: benign, good for batting and not really bowler-friendly. Though MI's batting has flattered to deceive, except for one game against RCB, it is their bowling that has let them down more than their batting.

MI bowlers need to dislodge the Warner-Dhawan duo quickly

Sunrisers do not possess too many hard-hitting batsmen in their arsenal, except for the duo of Shikhar Dhawan and David Warner. However, both these men are in very good form, scored half-centuries in their side's last game against the Kolkata Knight Riders and will be licking their lips ahead of the clash against Mumbai.

Considering the palpable weaknesses in the bowling department and that this is a 4.00 PM start, Rohit should have no hesitation in batting first, if he wins the toss.

I thought that it was a mistake on the MI skipper's part to decide to bowl first against the Delhi Daredevils (DD), who piled on 190 on the board and took the game away from Mumbai. Therefore, toss, from MI's perspective, will be critical to their chances of winning this game.

Team Combination

Ricky Ponting and company ought to get their team combination totally spot on. Ambati Rayudu hasn't done much while batting in that No.6 and No.7 positions, and I don't think he can render much if he is persisted with at that position. Can he open? There are better options than him.

Rayudu, therefore, ideally should make way for a bowler, preferably Shreyas Gopal, who knows how to bat and is a good leg-spinner, too.

The other change I would make to the playing XI is that of Parthiv Patel. The wicket-keeper batsman has failed to harness his opportunity at the top of the order and, with a top score of 28 in 4 games, deserves to make way for Aditya Tare, who can be a dangerous middle-order batsman.

Batting Order

There should be no messing about with Lendl Simmons' place at the top of the order, but, who should partner him?

Unmukt Chand has to be promoted to the top of the MI batting order

Unmukt Chand has looked good during his last two outings against RCB and DD, and it would be a no brainer to get him to open the innings, making space for Rohit Sharma, who is arguably the team's best batsman, at No.3. That top 3, hopefully, should augur well for the Indians.

MI shouldn't be flustered by who bats at No.4, as it will all depend on how the top three perform. Rohit's best position is at No.3, as he can then play the anchor role for the team and have other batsmen play around him.

If all goes well, Pollard should walk in at No.4, a position that might even give him some time to settle in before going for extravagant strokes. The Caribbean dasher will obviously be followed by Hardik Pandya who, with his cameo innings of 16 from 4 balls against the Royal Challengers, showed that he can render quick runs with the bat and should, in all possibility, go in at No.5

Tare at No.6 will be a good option for the stuttering Mumbai Indians, who need their batsmen to deliver the goods while the bowling remains a major worry.

Bowling

The addition of Gopal will add more potency to the MI bowling attack, as the Karnataka leg-spinner will be a good foil for Harbhajan, who has toiled away as the solitary spinner in the side for much of this campaign.

The addition of another spinner to the bowling attack will also mean that Lasith Malinga, who has taken 6 wickets in 6 games so far this campaign, need not necessarily be brought on during the middle stages of the opposition's innings.

Jasprit Bumrah will look to comeback strongly after his no-show against the Daredevils on Thursday, when he bowled a lot of short-pitched deliveries that were dealt with severely by JP Duminy and Shreyas Iyer.

Mitchell McClenaghan needs to get more consistent and not be satisfied with just bowling well in patches.

Final Thought

The aforementioned blueprint should be the way to go for the two-time CLT20 winners, who cannot afford to lose today's game that could all but end their chances of making it to the playoffs.

The bowling remains 'the' biggest worry as far as MI are concerned, and today's result might just hinge on their bowling performance because of the nature of the wicket at the Wankhede Stadium.

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.