Can The Mumbai Indians Dominate The IPL In The Seasons To Come?

Mumbai Indians clinched their second IPL title in style last Sunday

Mumbai Indians (MI) won their second Indian Premier League (IPL) title last Sunday, when they easily defeated six-time finalists Chennai Super Kings (CSK) by 41 runs at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata, a venue where they won their 1st IPL title and against the same opposition, too, a couple of years ago.

It was such an imperious performance from Rohit Sharma's men, who were not even given a smidgen of chance of qualifying for the playoffs after they lost their first four games and looked like a disjointed unit altogether.

The turnaround began with a 18-run victory against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, where their batsmen collectively came good for the first time in the tournament and the bowlers did enough to stop the Royal Challengers from scoring 210 in response.

The victory in Bangalore was followed by a massive loss to the Delhi Daredevils (DD) at the Feroz Shah Kotla, and Mumbai were languishing at the bottom of the table with a mere two points from six games.

However, a run of five straight victories against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), Rajasthan Royals (RR), Kings XI Punjab (KXIP), Delhi and Chennai, in that order, saw MI get closer to the playoff positions and put themselves in serious contention to make it to the last four for the sixth consecutive season.

The thrilling last over victory against Chennai, which was sealed by an exhilarating batting partnership between Hardik Pandya and the ever-reliable Ambati Rayudu, was followed by a defeat to RCB at the Wankhede Stadium; it pushed Mumbai into a tight corner, as they needed to win their remaining two games against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Sunrisers, in order to qualify.

Royal Challengers were unfortunate with the weather playing spoilsport in their last game against Delhi, with a washout there restricting them to just seven wins from 14 league games and meant that they could only get to 16 points.

Therefore, MI, going into their last league game, were in a position where a win over Sunrisers, would see them move into second place behind CSK, on the basis of winning a game more than RCB, whose better net run-rate than Mumbai was overlooked.

A comfortable 9-wicket victory against David Warner's side helped the Indians progress into the playoffs, with the Qualifier 1 being held at the Wankhede Stadium, their fortress.

Dhoni's devils were the opposition, again, and Mumbai, batting first, piled up a massive 187/6 on the board, with Lendl Simmons, Kieron Pollard and Parthiv Patel scoring heavily and helping their team post such a huge total.

Chennai's batsmen kept their team in it until the first half of their innings. But a two-wicket over from Harbhajan Singh, dismissing Suresh Raina and Dhoni in the 11th of CSK's innings, brought the game under Mumbai's control and they went onto register a comfortable 25-run victory that saw them progress to their 3rd IPL final.

In the finals, they were once again pitted against Chennai, who defeated the Royal Challengers by 3 wickets in the second qualifier, and MI started the game as favorites for the title.

Dhoni, maybe, committed a howler in winning the toss and asking Mumbai to bat first, an opportunity they took full advantage of by posting 202/5 from their 20 overs.

The visitors' batting lineup didn't have a good season, and it showed on the night of the finals, when they failed to pace their innings well and Mumbai bowlers, led by Lasith Malinga, proved a hot cup of coffee to handle for the Chennai stroke-makers.

Mumbai, with a comprehensive 41-run win in the finals, became the third IPL side to have won two titles, along with Chennai and the Knight Riders. With the clinching of the trophy, Mumbai completed their turnaround, which, it has to be said, happened away from the spotlight.

The subsequent question, after winning the 2nd title in three years, is whether Rohit and company can dominate the league in the seasons to follow.

Read on...

Throughout the 8th edition of the IPL, everyone involved with the Nita Ambani-owned franchise kept reiterating the belief within the squad.

Ricky Ponting was a winner in his playing days, and his presence would have been valuable for Mumbai

Ricky Ponting was appointed the head-coach prior to the season, and though he didn't have any coaching pedigree prior to taking up the role with MI, he was a winner right throughout his playing career.

I think the Tasmanian's personality would have been key to instilling the winning mentality within the squad, which didn't have many decorated T20 players other than Malinga and Pollard.

Going forward, belief is something Mumbai need to have in abundance, if they are to dominate the league. But, with the 'Punter' supervising proceedings for the Indians, you can be rest assured that he will keep the players motivated and have them striving for consistency in the seasons to follow.

Talking of consistency, though, in a relatively long season, you are bound to have ups and downs and, if you want to be competing for the title, you need to have the quality to bounce back from defeats.

Mumbai, with 9 victories from their final 10 games, showed that they can go on a run of victories and have what it takes to recover from a string of defeats, too.

However, on that note, they need to be better prepared for next season and not make another horrendous start to their campaign, like they have done over the last couple of seasons.

Having won the title in the 2015 season and done so with a settled lineup for most of the second half, I feel that Mumbai probably can start off smoothly in 2016, when they will be defending their title.

Also, Pollard's form with the bat was one of the marquee reasons for his side going all the way and getting the job done on the finals day. He has lacked a bit of consistency while playing for MI since joining the franchise in 2010 but, in the two IPL winning seasons, the hard-hitting West Indian has made serious contributions with the bat.

Pollard has been a vital cog in the MI ranks in both their title-winning seasons

Pollard made 420 runs in the 2013 season, and garnered 419 runs in 2015, proving his significance to the side while batting in that No.4, No.5 and No.6 positions. Holding onto him is going to be important, as he forms the core of the Mumbai lineup.

Simmons has had two mind-boggling seasons back-to-back for the Indians, scoring 934 runs in 21 innings and repeatedly showing that he can play the long innings, which has what made him standout from the other batsmen in the side.

In addition to the Pollard-Simmons duo, the likes of Rayudu, Pandya, Rohit and Parthiv, played a crucial role in their side putting up totals on the board and also chasing them down on a couple of occasions. Rayudu, in particular, was consistent throughout the 2015 season, playing match-winning knocks against Delhi and Rajasthan at the Wankhede, and Chennai at the MA Chidambaram Stadium.

Such a batting lineup looks good on paper, and all of them showed good form in the season that has just been completed. A lot will depend on their batsmen if Mumbai are to dominate the IPL in the coming seasons, because batting has always been their strongest suit.

Now, the bowling department did comeback strongly in 2015 after being taken to the cleaners by Brendon McCullum at home; by Delhi at the Feroz Shah Kotla and also by the likes of KKR and Kings XI, who found it pretty easy to score over 170 runs against the MI bowling attack during the first half of the recently concluded IPL season.

The main reason, however, for such poor bowling performances was Malinga's wretched form at the beginning of the campaign. Someone like Steven Smith showed utter disdain in his treatment of the Sri Lankan quickie, who went for massive runs and couldn't buy more than one wicket, at least for the first four games of the season.

Malinga has delivered the goods season after season for MI, however, it cannot be a good thing to rely heavily on him. Injury to Corey Anderson, in particular, was a blessing in disguise for the 2015 IPL champions, who then brought in Mitchell McClenaghan and started tasting success from that point onwards. The New Zealand seamer bowled well since coming in, but the form of Malinga picked up, too, as the season progressed.

While the Malinga-McClenaghan bowling combination does bode well for the future, Mumbai need to look for an Indian bowler who can at least be half as good as the aforementioned overseas duo.

Vinay Kumar was an unimpressive buy, for me, and he was the weak link in his side's bowling attack that even had someone like Jagadeesha Suchith, the 21-year old Karnataka left-arm orthodox spinner, thriving on his first taste of the IPL and picking up 10 wickets from 13 games, and really did bowl well for the Indians.

Harbhajan Singh picked up 18 wickets from 15 games and proved his worth once again. His performances for Mumbai earned him a call-up to the national side that has been picked for the one-off Test match against Bangladesh next month.

MI found success with that playing XI, which was not a world-beating one by any means.

Rohit showed wonderful leadership qualities, and was pivotal to MI winning the title

Let us not overlook the leadership qualities of Rohit, who showed a good head on his shoulders and tactically was very adept at the way he concealed the chinks in his side's bowling attack. Therefore, a big portion of the success has to be attributed to Rohit, as well, for the way he led the side.

However, MI need better Indian players than the ones - Jasprit Bumrah, Pawan Suyal, Unmukt Chand, Aditya Tare, Shreyas Gopal, Pragyan Ojha, Akshay Wakhare, Siddesh Lad, Abhimanyu Mithun, Nitish Rana - who were part of their title-winning 2015 season.

They need to strengthen the side massively if they are to continue winning titles and, even better, dominate the league.

Final Thought

Mumbai winning the title in the season that has just finished is one of 'the' success stories of the IPL history.

No other IPL outfit boasts of the kind of backroom staff MI have in place

They have by far the most immaculate backroom staff - Jonty Rhodes, Robin Singh, Shane Bond and Sachin Tendulkar, in addition to the head-coach - compared to the other franchises, and we cannot underestimate the impact they would have had in the Indians turning around their form.

MI played as a unit and it was their team performances during the second half of the season, that won them the title. As aforementioned, however, they need to bring in better Indian players to complement the good overseas personnel at their disposal.

They have the necessary tools to dominate the IPL scene, and that has to be the next target for the franchise.

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, Qualifier 1: How Equipped Are Mumbai Indians To Beating Chennai Super Kings?

Mumbai's bowlers are in good form ahead of the game against Chennai

Mumbai Indians (MI) played some outstanding cricket against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), who let the pressure of a knockout game overwhelm them and capitulated rather clumsily with the bat.

You can take no credit away from the visitors, though, whose bowling attack stepped up to the plate and delivered the knockout punch.

Lasith Malinga and Mitchell McClenaghan bowled their hearts out, dismissing the dangerous opening duo of Shikhar Dhawan and David Warner in the 1st and 2nd overs of the hosts' innings.

Sunrisers never really recovered after that new ball assault from Mumbai, and folded up for a mere 113. Defeat was never in doubt after such a poor batting performance, and the visitors, led by their opening partnership of Parthiv Patel (51) and Lendl Simmons (48), romped home to a 9-wicket victory with 37 balls to spare.

By way of their 8th win of the campaign, Rohit Sharma's men have reached the playoffs for a sixth consecutive season and also finished 2nd on the Indian Premier League (IPL) points table, on the basis of accruing more wins (8 compared to 7) than Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) who had a better net run-rate than Mumbai.

Such a victory has set it up perfectly for the men in blue and gold, as the first qualifier is to be played tomorrow at the Wankhede Stadium where, over the years, Mumbai have been hard to beat.

They, however, have a very different proposition in front of them compared to the one they faced last Sunday, as the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) have once again had a good season thus far, possess the necessary big game temperament and, finally, look in decent fettle ahead of tomorrow's fixture.

The question has to be: how equipped are the Indians to beating CSK, while playing on their own patch? Answer to follow...

At the beginning of the season, needless to say, Mumbai looked a pretty ordinary side and were rolled over easily by the likes of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), Kings XI Punjab (KXIP), Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Super Kings, in their first four games.

While many a player in their squad looked to be out-of-form to begin with, Ricky Ponting and company probably didn't get the combination of their playing XI right, too.

They went in with three overseas batsmen - Aaron Finch, Corey Anderson and Kieron Pollard - for the first three games of the season.

It meant that Malinga, the other overseas player who has been critical to MI's success over the years, had to shoulder extra responsibility in the bowling department, and Harbhajan Singh was the only other quality bowler who could be put in the same bracket as the unorthodox Sri Lankan quickie.

Someone like Jasprit Bumrah, who did so well last season, looked clueless and his flimsy bowling performances continued to cost Mumbai. Vinay Kumar, the new recruit from KKR, is not a dangerous bowler who will strike fear in the opposition batting lineups.

Malinga was out of bowling form too, going for plenty of runs while not picking many wickets.

Mumbai's bowling attack, therefore, struggled to take wickets (they managed to pick 5 or more wickets only once in their first four games) and stem their opponents from scoring over 160.

With their side's bowling attack looking out of sorts, the batsmen always had that extra responsibility to either put a big total on the board, which itself wasn't enough against Chennai when the first time these sides met this season, or chase down massive targets.

The home win against Sunrisers turned around Mumbai's fortunes

Things, though, turned around for the good once they played Sunrisers at Wankhede, where, despite setting the visitors an easy target of 158 to win the game, they produced their best bowling performance and went onto register their 2nd win of the campaign.

Since then Mumbai have been able to produce team performances that have seen them register many a memorable victory during the second half of their campaign, when they have won 6 of their 7 fixtures.

The respective batting forms of Hardik Pandya and Ambati Rayudu have been particularly pleasing to see, and this duo has added depth to the MI middle order.

Also, the inception of McClenaghan has added more firepower to his side's bowling attack that has done well as the season has progressed.

Going into tomorrow's game against the Super Kings, Mumbai, man-to-man, would think that there is not much gulf between themselves and their illustrious opponents.

Tomorrow's hosts are the most in-form side compared to their opponents, and all three departments - batting, bowling and fielding - of their game are functioning very well.

Chennai are probably the most well-balanced IPL team, even better than the Knight Riders', be it this season or in the previous seven seasons.

However, having said that, the South Indian franchise has had a few problems with their middle order this season.

Chennai's middle order has been far from prolific this season

The trio of MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina and Faf du Plessis, have scored over 300 runs each, but scored those runs at only 125 runs per 100 balls, which explains why CSK have posted a total in excess of 180 only on two of the ten occasions they have batted first.

Also, Brendon McCullum, with 436 runs to his name, gave them many a good start during the league phase, and Chennai weren't as much of a force in the games that the New Zealand skipper failed with the bat. Him joining up with the national squad that faces England in a 2-match Test series starting in a couple of days' time, is a major blow to CSK, and it will be interesting to see how they cope without their swashbuckling opener.

Coming to their bowling attack, Ashish Nehra and Dwayne Bravo have taken 18 and 20 wickets, respectively, but have not really been complemented by the likes of Mohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja - two bowlers who could be looked at as genuine weak links.

Dhoni has also persevered with Ishwar Pandey, who has pegged away indefatigably on an unresponsive wicket in Chennai.

Ravichandran Ashwin has bowled to profile, picking 9 wickets from 11 matches and conceding only 5.73 runs-per-over, which is the most impressive aspect of all.

Pawan Negi, since coming into the side, has bowled well, although it is worth mentioning that the left-arm orthodox spinner was taken for 25 runs in an over by Pandya and Rayudu, who helped their side win that game.

Chennai's bowlers have got used to bowling on the slow wicket at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, where they have won 6 of their 7 games and Mumbai were the only side to beat them at the so called Lion's Den.

While playing away from home, however, their bowling attack has been taken to the cleaners in all but a couple of games against the RCB and KXIP.

Now, Dhoni is at his best when he has got the luxury of using 2-3 spinners during an innings but, at the Wankhede, I am afraid that the conditions aren't going to be exactly in his favor.

CSK, it is safe to say, are not a superior side to Mumbai, and will be tested in the cauldron that is the Wankhede Stadium.

Final Thought

Mumbai have probably surprised themselves by qualifying for the playoffs after losing their first four games.

Mumbai also have the confidence of having beaten Chennai not so long ago

As aforementioned, once they saw off the Sunrisers at home, they managed to strike consistency in results and played well to win against the likes of the Royals, Knight Riders and Super Kings, teams that saw a dip in form after suffering defeat at the hands of Mumbai.

Rohit & co. are high on confidence and there is simply no reason to suggest that they are 'incapable' of overcoming a Super Kings side which, over the years, has not been great when playing against Mumbai.

Expect this to be a high-scoring contest.

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: 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.

Chennai Super Kings vs Mumbai Indians: How The Indians Can Stop Super Kings From Roaring At The Lion's Den?

Mumbai has been the only IPL side to have gone toe-to-toe with Chennai over the years

Mumbai Indians (MI) face an away clash against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at the M. A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, in match 43 of this year's Pepsi Indian Premier League (IPL).

The Super Kings have played to their pedigree this season too, dominating teams with a supreme brand of cricket and thriving on consistency in results; no wonder they are currently atop of the table and assured of a playoff spot.

The Indians, after suffering a calamitous start to their campaign with four straight defeats, have done well to register five wins from their next six games and give themselves a genuine chance of making it to the playoffs.

Mumbai have been the only IPL side that has gone toe-to-toe with CSK over the years, though they have failed to win any of their last four games including the ignominious 6-wicket defeat in the reverse fixture earlier in the season, against MS Dhoni's side.

Can they conjure up an unlikely victory tomorrow against the Super Kings, who are playing on another level compared to the rest of the IPL outfits? Read on...

Chennai

The Super Kings are one of the very few IPL sides that possess a wonderful blend of international stars and talented Indian players, who make up a significant 7 spots in their team's playing XI.

CSK's openers are the danger men as far as MI are concerned

The likes of Brendon McCullum, Faf du Plessis, Dwayne Smith and Dwayne Bravo are devastating T20 players who have played to potential this time around too and been crucial to their side dominating the tournament until this point of the campaign.

McCullum, fresh from leading New Zealand into the finals of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, has been impossible to bowl to and invariably provided his team with good starts at the top of the order.

He continues to play with so much confidence and no bowler has so far come up with an answer to his imperious approach to T20 batting.

Of late, though, the swashbuckling right-hander has struggled to kick on after getting off to starts and it has had a mitigating effect on his side, who, as a result, have not been able to post big totals or chase them down, like against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH).

McCullum is the leading run-scorer with 315 runs for the Super Kings, whose second highest scorer is Smith. The hard-hitting Caribbean opener has done well as a Super King after making the move from Mumbai last Indian summer.

Chennai's strength lies in the quick starts provided by their opening duo of McCullum and Smith, but the two-time IPL winners' middle-order, despite the presence of Suresh Raina, du Plessis and Dhoni himself, has surprisingly struggled to score runs this season.

Dhoni, in particular, has been woeful with the bat, struggling to rotate strike, getting bowled against medium pace bowlers and striking it at just 122 runs/100 balls, which, however, does not reflect how poor he has been.

Yes, both Dhoni and Raina have notched up over 200 runs each so far, however, when their side has been in a spot of bother, none of them have actually played a noteworthy innings. Such a pattern was palpable in their defeats, all of which have come away from home, against Rajasthan Royals (RR), Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Sunrisers this season.

It will be an area to target for tomorrow's visitors, who need to remind themselves that early wickets against CSK will give them a fair chance of winning the game.

Ashish Nehra has been in red-hot form with the ball this season

Coming to the bowling department, Ashish Nehra, without a shadow of doubt, has been in very good rhythm, bowling very good lines and lengths that have suffocated most batsmen from getting him away.

The left-arm seamer has been well backed up by Dwayne Bravo, who, with 16 wickets to his name, is a vital cog with the ball for CSK.

Mohit Sharma has continued from where he left off for India at the Cricket World Cup earlier in the year, though he has been a touch expensive and going at an economy rate of 8.6 runs-per-over.

Ravindra Jadeja has not been effective as in previous seasons, picking up just 5 wickets and conceding close to 8.5 runs-per-over.

Technically, he has become more round-armish and hence been quite easy for most batsmen to score runs off him while also feeling less threatened to be dismissed.

Ravichandran Ashwin's two-match absence has not affected his side from delivering results, as Pawan Negi has done well with the ball and as a lower order batsman. The home boy, however, is expected to recover in time for tomorrow's game.

Super Kings, as aforementioned, will look to set the tone early on in the innings, be it with the bat or ball.

They have got the personnel to wrest control of the game early on with quick runs or wickets, and will look to do exactly the same against what is actually proving to be a decent MI side that played poorly early on in the tournament.

Mumbai

The visitors come into this game on the back of four consecutive victories, which will have done their confidence a world of good.

They won their last fixture against Delhi Daredevils (DD) on Tuesday night, a victory that was crucial to keeping them in the hunt for making it to the playoffs, and will look to build on from the momentum they have gained recently.

The openers - Parthiv Patel and Lendl Simmons - have started delivering and been the cornerstone to their side's renaissance. Both the batsmen have been scoring runs recently and are in good touch ahead of this massive fixture.

Mumbai's middle order has had a lot of renovation done to it and simply hasn't look settled, with Rohit Sharma slotting himself at No.4 and Unmukt Chand predominantly being the No.3 batsman, who has failed to deliver.

Therefore, it is mighty important for Mumbai that Simmons and Parthiv get them off to a good start again, and thereby not put their middle order, comprising of free stroke-makers in Rohit and Kieron Pollard, in a catch-22 situation.

Rayudu has been instrumental to his side's recent victories

The form of Ambati Rayudu has simply been superb, with the Hyderabadi batsman playing two match-winning innings in his side's last three games: his 53 (27) against RR was flawless and helped his side post a formidable 187 on the board; against the Daredevils on Tuesday, boy, what a magnificent innings it turned out to be, under pressure?

At first he played second fiddle to Rohit when they were reeling at 40/4; he largely looked for singles and intended to give the strike back to the Mumbai batsman. Once Rohit was dismissed and MI were pushed into a tight corner, Rayudu's approach changed completely and he nonchalantly took his side over the line, with not much effort required from Pollard, who got himself a nice 14-ball 26.

Rayudu and Pollard getting runs should hold Mumbai in good stead, heading into the business end of the tournament that sees them face pivotal clashes against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and KKR after tomorrow night's game.

MI's bowling, along with their batting, has improved on its performance levels as the season has progressed, picking wickets, bowling economically and winning games for their side.

The drawback for MI is that Lasith Malinga will not be available for this game and, having returned to form with the ball, it is a massive hole to be filled for the visitors.

It will be interesting to see how they respond to that selection, and whether they look to strengthen the batting or give an outing to someone like Marchant de Lange, who has been warming the benches from game No.1.

Apart from that, Mitchell McClenaghan has been a crucial component in this MI revival that needs to keep going for the remaining 4 games if they are to make it to the last four.

The New Zealand seamer has picked up 9 wickets from 6 games and, apart from the last game when he got bludgeoned by Yuvraj Singh, added firepower to his side's bowling attack.

Harbhajan will hold the key to Mumbai's chances of winning

Harbhajan Singh had an impressive outing against DD after a couple of tough games with the ball, and the Turbanator will relish bowling at the Chepauk.

The form of Vinay Kumar and Jagadeesha Suchith - the Karnataka duo - has improved, as well, though it remains to be seen how they respond to the strong CSK batting lineup.

Like the hosts, the visitors will also depend on their new ball bowlers and opening batsmen to do their respective jobs well early on in the game, as that is where Dhoni's devils are at their strongest.

Final Thought

The M. A. Chidambaram Stadium, given the kind of surface that gets prepared to invariably suit the home side, overwhelmingly favors the side batting first, meaning that the toss becomes rather indispensable and, in many ways, has an influence on the end result of the game.

Chennai will start as favorites for this fixture, but Mumbai, given their form over the last five games, will be a force to reckon with. 

IPL 2015: Five Things We Learned From Mumbai Indians' Victory Over Kings XI Punjab

Mumbai Indians (MI) registered their 4th win of this season's Pepsi Indian Premier League (IPL), and the third win on the trot, as they comfortably defeated a demoralized Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) side by 23 runs and got themselves up to 8 points on the IPL table.

Rohit Sharma, as he did in the last couple of games, won the toss against George Bailey's Kings XI and had no hesitation in batting first on what was a two-paced track.

The visitors were unchanged from the side that played and won against Rajasthan Royals (RR), while the hosts made four changes to the side that lost by 9 wickets to Delhi Daredevils (DD): Murali Vijay came in for Manan Vohra; Glenn Maxwell replaced Shaun Marsh; Karanveer Singh came in place of Shardul Thakur and Mitchell John replaced Thisara Perera.

The Mumbai openers - Parthiv Patel and Lendl Simmons - as they have been doing in recent games, got the team off to a terrific start, putting up a partnership of 111 for the first wicket, before Parthiv perished.

The visitors, however, couldn't pile on the runs thereafter, and the likes of Rohit Sharma, Kieron Pollard and even the well set Simmons, found it hard to score boundaries towards the latter stages of the MI innings.

The Kings XI bowlers also need to be credited for the way they came back into the game and bowled those yorkers at will, to tie down the visitors' batsmen who can be so hard to stop normally.

Mumbai finished with 172/3 at the end of 20 overs - a score that would not have satisfied them after the kind of start they had made, even though it got harder to bat as the innings wore on.

MI's bowlers needed to strike early after their batsmen failed to post a total close to 200, and they responded brilliantly, with Lasith Malinga removing Virender Sehwag in the first ball of his spell and all other bowlers chipping in with wickets and economical overs throughout the hosts' innings.

It was yet another comprehensive victory that not only would have boosted MI's confidence even more, but has also given them a realistic chance of being involved in the playoffs.

In hindsight, what did we learn from that Mumbai performance? Read on...

Punjab's new ball bowlers played it into Mumbai's hands

Mumbai have had this perennial problem of not being able to find a solid opening pair, and that has continued this season too, except for the last 5 games in which Parthiv and Simmons have really put their best foot forward.

Prior to the game I felt Punjab needed to pick up early wickets and get into that shaky Mumbai middle-order as quickly as possible.

Anureet Singh and Sandeep Sharma were all over the place, to start off with

However, Sandeep Sharma and Anureet Singh, bowlers who have done well so far this season, failed to make a disciplined start and both the Mumbai openers cashed in on the freebies Punjab bowlers provided them with.

Mumbai's score kept soaring with each passing over and, before Kings XI managed to stem the flow of runs, the damage had been done by as early as the 10th over.

Erratic bowling from the Punjab bowlers to start off with benefited Mumbai immensely and it also meant that the visitors, despite scoring just 62 runs off the last 8 overs, still managed to put up a competitive total on the board.

Parthiv played an absolute gem of a knock

The wicket-keeper batsman has had his fair share of criticism for not converting the good starts he usually makes while opening the innings, not only this year but also in previous seasons with various franchises.

This season, he has been continuing that bad habit of getting dismissed after making good starts to his innings' and playing himself in during the initial overs. Before yesterday, his highest score for the season was a mere 28 and he, more than anyone else, would have been disappointed at his own performances.

Parthiv's innings was absolutely magnificent

However, there was definite spunk about the way he approached his innings, picking the right balls to hit and emphasizing on timing his shots, rather than looking to hit the ball hard.

His first scoring short of the evening was a crisply struck cover-drive that sped away to the boundary. It was a magnificent way to start off the innings but, in Parthiv's case, it was not something we haven't seen before. The question, therefore, was whether he could carry on yesterday, and he did, finally.

The diminutive southpaw really got going in the 5th over of the innings, which was delivered by Johnson who conceded 15 off his first over, including a six and a couple of boundaries to Parthiv, who really was in his zone.

Once he got into a free-scoring rhythm, Parthiv didn't slow down and instead assumed the role of the aggressor in the partnership between him and Simmons, being assured in his approach and playing pure cricketing shots.

He got out trying to hit a six in the 13th over of innings, holding out to deep square leg after playing a good pick up shot off his pads.

His innings of 59 (36), punctuated by five 4s and three 6s, was an absolute delight to watch and proved significant in the overall context of the game, as other Mumbai batsmen, including the well set Simmons, found it really hard to score runs in the last third of the innings.

Mumbai's bowling attack just keeps getting better

MI's bowling was probably their weakest suit not so long ago. However, they have turned it around so quickly after ignominiously failing to defend a competitive score of 184 against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at the Wankhede Stadium earlier this season.

The addition of Mitchell McClenaghan has helped, obviously, with the New Zealand seamer picking wickets and keeping things tight when he is not dismissing batsmen.

Let us also not forget his match-winning spells of 4-0-20-3 and 4-0-31-3 against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and the Royals, respectively, in back-to-back games that started off this revival for Mumbai.

Malinga's bowling too has improved as the season has progressed, and the Sri Lankan quickie has become really accurate with his yorkers and slower deliveries over the last couple of games. Mumbai will especially be delighted with the form of Malinga, who has been their talisman over the years in the IPL.

Mumbai's bowling attack has pulled up its socks as the season has progressed

Against the Kings XI, it was a very good performance from the entire Mumbai bowling attack, as every specialist bowler performed his trade very well and made it hard for the hosts' batsmen to score runs freely.

It was particularly pleasing to see Jagadeesha Suchith and Vinay Kumar bowl economically and not disrupt the good work done by the trio of Malinga, Harbhajan Singh and McClenaghan.

The decision to stick with the playing XI is reaping the desired rewards

Over the course of the last five games, 4 of which have been won by Mumbai, something or the other has not looked right and we have asked ourselves why the team management has been hesitant to make changes to the playing XI.

The likes of Vinay, Unmukt Chand and even Parthiv, prior to yesterday, didn't make major contributions to the team's cause and the other players, therefore, had to shoulder the majority of the responsibility.

It has been much more of a team effort in the last couple of games

However, against the Kings XI, it was definitely a team effort, with all 11 men contributing either with the bat, ball, or on the field, taking a catch or stopping a boundary.

Vinay took a very good catch to dismiss Maxwell, and probably bowled his best spell - 3-0-17-0 - so far this season.

Chand didn't get to bat, but took a good running catch to dismiss Vijay. And as far as he is concerned, we definitely need to say that the team management, despite being let down by the youngster on occasions already this season, continues to believe and persevere in this individual.

Like Vinay and Chand, persevering with Parthiv also paid dividends yesterday.

The credit has to be the given to the team management for their nous and belief they have shown in their players.

MI need to keep their heads down

MI produced a terrific all-round display against Punjab, which arguably is the best they have done so far this season.

However, having said that, the caliber of today's opponents also needs to be taken into account and, honestly, Kings XI are nowhere near the kind of the side they were last season, as was admitted by Sanjay Bangar, the KXIP coach, midway through his side's innings.

Mumbai definitely deserve the points and credit for their performance yesterday, but I feel that they weren't pushed enough by Punjab, to assess themselves as a unit.

MI need to refocus immediately

Rohit's men have kept getting better as the season has progressed, but they have far bigger challenges to come and need to refocus immediately.

Final Thought

Mumbai are up against the Daredevils next, and they will be playing J-P Duminy's side at the Wankhede fortress.

The Indians will be relatively confident of repeating yesterday's performance against KXIP, but the result of tomorrow's game will have far greater repercussions on both sides' chances of making it to the playoffs.

Mumbai, therefore, will be under greater pressure than yesterday, enabling us to get a better idea of how improved they are as a unit.

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.