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.

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

Rayudu and McClenaghan helped Mumbai win against Rajasthan

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Have Mumbai unearthed a reliable opening combination?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ambati Rayudu's 53 was priceless to Mumbai

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

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

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

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

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

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

Mitchell McClenaghan made the difference to Mumbai's bowling

Mitchell McClenaghan has added firepower to MI's bowling attack

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Mumbai can reinforce their playing XI - if they want

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

MI were the better of the two sides over 40 overs

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

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

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

Final Thought

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

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

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

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. 

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.