Mumbai Indians (MI) carry the tag of being the most successful franchise in the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL) with four victories out of the twelve tournaments held till 2019. Mumbai Indians came into IPL 2020 as the defending champions and will be looking to add another title. They have a star-studded team with a good mix of youth and experience. MI were the first team to qualify for the playoffs in this year’s edition, registering 9 wins in the league stage.
Here are five reasons for Mumbai’s successful campaign so far:
1. Strong Indian core
MI have always possessed a strong Indian core, which has proved to be a vital cog in their success. This year too, MI has one of the strongest Indian contingents on paper. They have the likes of Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, the Pandya brothers, Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, among others who have played their part. Having a strong Indian core is of utmost importance to the team and even though the spotlight is often on the foreign players, you can only have four of them in your team, hence the role of the Indian players becomes crucial.
2. Settled opening-combo
Mumbai have one of the most settled opening pairs in the IPL. Quinton De Kock and skipper Rohit Sharma have made sure that they get MI off to a quick start. Even when Rohit was out for a few matches, Kishan stepped up and made sure that they won’t be missing Rohit’s services at the top.
3. Potent middle order
With the likes of Kieron Pollard, Hardik Pandya and Krunal Pandya, Mumbai possess a potent middle order that can take any attack to the cleaners. Irrespective of whether Mumbai have got off to a good start or not, the much-needed late surge has been provided by Pollard and Hardik on more than one instance.
4. Death Bowling
When a team has a certain Jasprit Bumrah in their armoury, it gives an edge over other teams as he can get the vital breakthroughs at crucial moments. Also, the acquisition of Trent Boult has done wonders for them. Bumrah and Boult have worked in tandem in both the powerplay as well as at the death to apply the brakes on the opposition batting.
5. Experience
Mumbai Indians boast of several experienced players like skipper Rohit Sharma, Kieron Pollard, Quinton De Kock, Bumrah and Boult who can always step up when the occasion demands. Having won the title 4 times, MI know how to win the pressure games and this keeps the team in good stead.