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: Five Things We Learned From Mumbai Indians' Victory Over Chennai Super Kings

MI got the better of CSK once again, beating them for the 11th time overall

Mumbai Indians (MI) once again came out in flying colors against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK), who were comfortably beaten by 25 runs in Qualifier 1 of the 8th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Mumbai were actually the visitors for yesterday's game that took place at the Wankhede Stadium, where, over the years, they have been hard to beat, winning 65% of their games (40) played at this venue.

They have turned things around remarkably well during the last fortnight, and were probably the confident of the two sides ahead of the clash against the Super Kings.

Rohit Sharma won the toss, and had no hesitation in batting first, which has been their forte this season, winning 66% of their games (9) in which they have batted first.

Chennai's new ball bowlers - Ravichandran Ashwin and Ashish Nehra - started off well, giving nothing away to the Mumbai openers, who had to work really hard to garner even singles.

Things, however, changed quickly in the 5th over, which saw Ashwin come on for his 3rd and last over on the night, conceding 13 runs and getting Mumbai's innings started.

Lendl Simmons and Parthiv Patel started scoring boundaries from both ends, and shifted the pressure back onto MS Dhoni and his bowlers. Simmons, in particular, scored boundaries at will and batted with great flair against spinners, as well as the fast bowlers.

This duo once again laid a solid foundation for their side, and put on 90 for the first wicket before Parthiv fell to Dwayne Bravo, attempting to cross-bat a slower delivery over mid-wicket.

Mumbai, though, kept hitting the boundaries and maintained pressure on the Super Kings, who were not getting the wickets in a canter until very late in the first innings.

The visitors reached 135/2 by the end of 15th over, and looked likely to post a total close to 190. However, there was a shift in momentum after the strategic time-out, with the hosts taking 2/6 from overs 16 and 17, putting Mumbai in a real spot of bother.

The Indians, with Kieron Pollard striking it crisply, were still in with a chance of reaching somewhere over 170. They ended up with 187 on the board, a total that gave them real advantage.

They began their bowling innings in grandiose fashion, with Lasith Malinga dismissing Dwayne Smith, a former Mumbai Indian, in the very first over of Chennai's innings. It was a contentious decision made by Richard Illingworth, but it didn't matter for Mumbai.

Faf du Plessis walked in at No.3 ahead of Suresh Raina, and attacked the Mumbai bowlers from the beginning. The South African played a loose shot in the 4th over bowled by Vinay Kumar, who was unlucky to not have his scalp after being dropped at third-man by Malinga.

At the other end, Michael Hussey hit a couple of boundaries, but wasn't posing many problems to Rohit and co., who preferred bowling to the Western Australian.

Chennai, though, had to take the initiative of going after the MI bowlers, and when they did, it resulted in false strokes and fall of wickets. du Plessis held fort at one end, and got into a bit of partnership with Raina, who showed intent from the word go and struck a couple of beautiful sixes in his innings of 25 (20).

He, however, got out at the wrong time from CSK's perspective, with Harbhajan Singh also dismissing Dhoni in the very next delivery he bowled. The hosts quickly stumbled to 86/4 by the 11th over and Mumbai had the equation well under their control.

Chennai never managed to build partnerships after the fall of their skipper, with the likes of Bravo and Ashwin playing cameo innings' that weren't good enough for their side.

Malinga picked up a couple of wickets to bowl out Chennai in the 19th over, and help his side seal their spot in the Finals of IPL 2015, which will take place at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata in 4 days time.

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

This game had a good ebb and flow to it

Right from the word go, this game felt like a big one, played by two very capable T20 sides.

Mumbai had a distinct advantage over Dhoni's devils, since they were playing in front of their home crowd and, most importantly, have been in good form during the latter stages of the ongoing season.

Chennai, on the other hand, have always thrived on occasions such as last night and were fully deserving of their place in the first qualifier.

Dhoni was very tactical in the way he utilized his new ball bowlers, as he not only tried to dry up the runs, but pick at least two Mumbai wickets in the powerplay itself.

There were a couple of edges - inside of Simmons' willow and outside of Parthiv' - that sped away to the boundary and frustrated the Chennai bowlers, who kept a lid on Mumbai until the 5th over of their innings.

From that point on until the end of the 15th over, however, Mumbai scored a whopping 113 runs for the loss of both their openers, to put themselves in a position of real strength.

Yesterday's game ebbed and flowed nicely, causing great intrigue for the neutrals

Chennai, though, came roaring back and bought a couple of wickets in the 16th and 17th over, to set MI back and enhance their chances of restricting the batting side to no more than 170.

They, however, were unsuccessful in their ambitions, letting Mumbai get up to 187 and face a massive proposition of chasing them down, even though there were no demons on the wicket and had the batting firepower to get the job done.

Malinga dismissed Smith early, and gave a head start to his side's bowling innings. That wicket didn't work in Mumbai's advantage, though, as du Plessis came out all guns blazing and started scoring boundaries from the outset.

Mumbai strung in some cheap overs in the first half of CSK's innings, but there were a few expensive ones too, with Raina and du Plessis threatening to take the game away from the visitors.

Victory for the visitors became certain once Harbhajan got two wickets - Raina and Dhoni - in the 11th over, and it became a no contest from then on.

But, for almost 3/4th of the game, there was so much of an ebb and flow to it, and from the neutrals' point of view, it was wonderful to see two sides compete so well in such a high profile IPL fixture.

Things went perfectly to plan for Mumbai

In the end, when Mumbai reflect on the game, it really couldn't have scripted itself better.

Batting first, as aforementioned, has been their forte this season, and they got to do just that after Rohit won the toss.

Simmons' 65 (51) set Mumbai on their way to posting a big total

Their openers got the team off to a solid start after surviving a few scary moments, and batted until the 11th over before Patel got out. It meant that the likes of Rohit, Pollard and Hardik Pandya, could come in and start playing their natural game right from the beginning.

In the last five overs of their innings, they scored only 52 runs despite the last three overs going for 46, and didn't really score as heavily as they have done on previous occasions this season. But still managed to get to a total - 187/6 - that they would have been happy with. 

When they came out to bowl, the onus was on them to pick early wickets and make the scoreboard pressure get onto the home side. 

They were lucky to dismiss Smith, but Mumbai never let CSK run away with the game, even when the likes of du Plessis and Raina played a few good shots and kept the required run-rate under control. Harbhajan's brilliant 11th over helped them get a firm grip on proceedings, and go onto win the game by a comfortable 25-run margin.

Therefore, Mumbai would be mighty pleased with their performance that was up to the mark on a big occasion like last night, and against a good Chennai side. 

Pollard's 41 (17) had a gargantuan impact on proceedings

The West Indian has been having a very good season, and he continued his good work in his side's demolition of Chennai.

He came into bat in the 14th over, which was the ideal scenario for him, as well as Mumbai, because of the fact that he would, in any way, have enough deliveries to catapult Mumbai to a total in excess of 180, at least.

He got in on the act straightaway, hitting a couple of sixes off Negi and pushing Mumbai's run-rate to 9 runs-per-over. The visitors then lost a couple of wickets - Rohit and Pandya - which made Pollard's presence in the middle even more significant.

Pollard played 'the' game-changing innings

He was batting on 17 from 9 balls when Bravo began the 18th over, in which Pollard hit a six and took a single from only the two deliveries he got to face. It turned out to be a 15-run over for the visitors, who suddenly went from 141/4 to 156/4 with two overs to go.

Mohit Sharma was in line to bowl the 19th over, which cost CSK 15 runs again: Pollard's presence in the middle put Mohit off his line, and the Haryana seamer bowled three wide deliveries and was taken for a six and four by the hard-hitting right-hander, who was playing an absolutely priceless innings for Mumbai.

In the final over the innings, bowled by compatriot Bravo, he once again forced the bowler into making unforced errors and also hit an utterly flat six, helping his side realize a mammoth 187/6 at the end of 20 overs.

Bravo, in particular, was difficult to get away because of his constant changing of pace, and no MI batsman, other than Pollard, was able to score a boundary from the all-rounder's bowling efforts yesterday.

Pollard's innings not only got the score to 187, but Chennai, going into the dressing room for the change over, would have been upset by the amount of runs (46) they conceded in the last three, after having Mumbai on the mat at 141/4 when the 18th over began.

That, for me, was the game changing aspect. Pollard was rewarded for that innings with the man-of-the-match award, which was well deserved.

Chennai's middle order needed to do more

The performance of Chennai's middle order has been nowhere close to good enough from the very beginning of the season.

Yesterday, chasing 188, it was all about them, unless Smith and Hussey got their team off to a prolific start and didn't lose a wicket until the halfway point of their innings.

That, however, didn't happen and Smith was wrongly adjudged leg-before by the umpire in the very first over of their innings.

In walked du Plessis, who steadied the ship and gave real impetus to CSK's innings. Hussey got out for 16 (11) in the 6th over, and someone like Raina had to stand up and play the long innings.

Harbhajan bowled the game-changing 11th over, dismissing Raina and Dhoni

He too started off well, and struck a couple of delightful sixes, but had to carry on and take the game forward for his side. Harbhajan bowled really well to dismiss him in the 11th over, which proved to be the match-deciding one that also saw Dhoni get out for a golden duck.

This has been a shocking IPL season with the bat for the Indian ODI skipper who, despite scoring 328 runs in 15 innings so far in the tournament, has had very little impact on his side while batting in that middle order.

Bravo replaced Dhoni, and took way too much time to settle down while the required run-rate was getting out of control.

du Plessis, in trying to get a move on at a crucial stage in the innings, got a leading edge while looking to loft Jagadeesha Suchith over long off, and ended up giving a catch to Vinay, the fielder at long-on.

Put together, the quartet of du Plessis, Raina, Dhoni and Bravo scored a mere 90 (70) and it proved to be a detriment to their side's chances of chasing down 188.

In hindsight, we probably got to commend Brendon McCullum for his heroics with the bat at the top of the order. He gave Chennai many a quick start and probably disguised the palpable weakness in the middle order; with him gone now, we are getting to see the original picture.

Rohit was astute in the way he juggled his bowling options

Rohit has every right to be proud of himself for his astuteness as a skipper

Rohit's captaincy stood out once again yesterday, when he superbly handled his bowling resources and brought the best out of them.

Malinga and McClenaghan started from either end, with the new ball, and the Sri Lankan quickie picked up the wicket of Smith in his very first over. McClenaghan had a poor day, and his first over on the night went for a whopping 17 runs; his outing didn't get any better thereafter, and finished with figures of 3-0-46-1.

Rohit didn't persist with the New Zealander, and brought on Vinay from his end for the 4th over of Chennai's innings.

The Karnataka Ranji skipper put in probably his best bowling performance of the season, and repaid the faith shown on him by the team management. He dismissed Hussey in the 6th over of the innings, and should have had du Plessis too a couple of overs earlier, if not for Malinga's drop at third-man.

Over the course of this season, we have seen Rohit utilize Suchith for a couple of overs in the mandatory powerplay. The scenario was different last night and Rohit, the skipper, was willing to adapt to the demands of it: Raina was batting at one end, and a left-hander usually favors facing the left-arm orthodox spinner, therefore, it was sensible from Rohit to hold him back.

That was one impressive aspect of his captaincy, as well as his choice of bowlers at various stages of CSK's innings.

Also, he let Harbhajan bowl from one end, and complete his 4 overs on the trot. It showed that Rohit meant business, and was going for the wickets instead of sitting back and letting the game run its course.

Mind you, such bowling changes and tactical decisions paid off superbly, and took Mumbai into the third IPL finals in their history.

Final Thought

It was a comprehensive performance from MI, who excelled in all three departments of the game.

A win against the Super Kings was also a good way to sign off from the Wankhede fortress, and get their minds firmly fixed on winning back the trophy that Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) took it from them last year.

Mumbai must definitely be oozing with confidence, and should be comfortable taking on any of the three sides - Chennai, Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) - in the grand IPL final this Sunday.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Mumbai got out of jail on many an occasion last night

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Pollard-Pandya partnership turned the game on its head

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Rohit's captaincy was audacious and spot on

Rohit was spot on with his bowling changes last night

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Mumbai have been excellent in winning cliffhangers this season

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

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

Final Thought

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

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

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