Relishing in the best ever start in an IPL tournament, the Mumbai Indians, otherwise stamped as slow starters, have won four of their five games and have been going from strength to strength since they played their first game against Pune at the Maharashtra Cricket Association’s Stadium, Pune. Having lost their first game, the Mumbai Indians quickly put their act together and went on to win every game they played since.
Nitish Rana, the Delhi southpaw known for stunning stroke-play, has been the standout performer so far as far the batting department is concerned. Mumbai’s batting has generally revolved around him, barring the game against Royal Challengers Bangalore where Kieron Pollard, with a sensational and sensible 70 off 47 brought Mumbai, at one point reduced to 7/4 after a brilliant hattrick by Badree, out of dire straits and drove them to a famous, momentum garnering the victory. Krunal Pandya and Hardik Pandya, too, have excelled with the Bat, whereas Rohit Sharma sprang back to form, scoring an important 40 in the last game. As far as Mumbai’s opening pair is concerned, Parthiv Patel and Jos Butler have got them off to decent starts
Harbhajan Singh bowled a great spell in the last game, conceding 22 runs off 4 overs, getting a wicket. Lasith Malinga and Jaspreet Bumrah have done a great job with the ball; so have the Pandya Brothers. Mitchell McClenaghan too has looked decent with the ball and with his left-arm medium fast, adds value to the attack. All in all, Mumbai Indians, along with KKR, have looked like the most settled Team in the league. What Mumbai must do is strictly guard themselves against complacency. If they do it, which they will considering the staff and mentors, they will easily qualify for the play-offs.
Predicted XI:
- Jos Butler.
- Parthiv Patel. (Wicket Keeper)
- Nitish Rana.
- Rohit Sharma (Captain).
- Kieron Pollard.
- Hardik Pandya.
- Krunal Pandya.
- Harbhajan Singh.
- Mitchell McClenaghan.
- Jasprit Bumrah.
- Lasith Malinga.
