Every IPL Team plays it’s opponent twice in the competition, once at home ground and once away. Each Team tries its best to make the maximum use of home conditions and strategies accordingly. Winning most home matches and trying best for a few away wins have been a standard strategy in the IPL. In this series, we look at each team and its relationship with its home venue and its likely strategy this year.
Known as the ‘Mecca of Indian Cricket’ the city of Mumbai has the richest cricket history in India. The city that witnessed the first-ever Test match played in India now boasts three Test venues. The most important of them, of course, is Wankhede Stadium. The stadium is the home-venue for the IPL Team Mumbai Indians and has been the 12th player for the franchise in the last few years.
History and Best Moments:
Established in 1974, Wankhede Stadium was BCA’s (Bombay Cricket Association, now Mumbai Cricket Association) answer to the CCI’s arrogance over the usage of the Brabourne Stadium. Since 1974, Wankhede hosted almost all the important cricket action in the city, except a brief period when it was being renovated.
First Test at Wankhede was played the West Indies team and its captain Clive Lloyd smashed 242 here. The ground has hosted 1987 Semi-final (where Gatting swept India away), 2011 World Cup Winning Final, Sachin Tendulkar’s last Test and 2016 T20 World Cup Semi-final. This year the stadium will host the IPL final also.
Also Read: IPL 2018 Preview: Mumbai Indians – The Defending Champions
MI Record at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai (All Seasons)
| Year | Played | Win | Loss | Win % |
| 2008 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 57 |
| 2010 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 86 |
| 2011 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 57 |
| 2012 | 8 | 3 | 5 | 38 |
| 2013 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 100 |
| 2014 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 80 |
| 2015 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 57 |
| 2016 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 43 |
| 2017 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 71 |
After winning the IPL for the first time in 2011, Mumbai Indians failed to back up their performance in the following season. They missed the services of Sachin Tendulkar for the first four matches due to an injury. Mumbai had an ordinary season where they were not consistent. MI ended at the third position despite winning only three home matches.
The next season proved to be a brilliant one for the Mumbai-franchise. They did not drop a match at home and posted an unbelievable winning percentage of 100% at their home games. Local Boy Rohit Sharma took the captaincy mantle in the same season.
Also Read: Rohit Sharma’s Funny Twitter Banter With Mumbai Indians Will Leave You In Splits
Pitch conditions:
It has been a batting dream for last few years. It is still a red-soil track that allows help for the spin bowlers and the extra-humidity in the air gives early assistance for the swing bowlers. For the batting team, the ball travels super fast on the Wankhede outfield and the boundaries are not the biggest. In fact, it was here that MI once chased 190-plus total within 15 overs.
For IPL 2018:
With lack of quality spinners in the roster this year, Mumbai Indians will be looking for Wankhede to be a faster track which will help their explosive batting line-up gain an advantage. They have brilliant death bowlers in McClenaghan, Mustafizur and Bumrah so expecting their strategy to revolve around building high-scores and then unleashing their fast bowlers.
