OPINION
Follow UsBest finish: Champions in 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2020
Worst finish: 7th in 2009
IPL 2020 finish: Winners
Top Run-Getter: Rohit Sharma – 4333
Top Wicket-Taker: Lasith Malinga - 195
New additions in 2021: Nathan Coulter-Nile, Adam Milne, Piyush Chawla, James Neesham, Yudhvir Charak, Marco Jansen and Arjun Tendulkar
You know, there can't be much wrong about an Indian Premier League franchise that has won five titles in the last eight years. Mumbai Indians are arguably the best T20 unit in world cricket and have got some mind-blowing players. The likes of Hardik Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult, Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan and Quinton de Kock are true match-winners led by an inspirational captain in Rohit Sharma.
The only thing Mumbai hadn't done before the last season was to win two titles in a row and they even managed to do that in 2020. Mumbai have got most of their bases covered and are once again legit and worthy favourites to win the forthcoming edition of IPL.
STRENGTHS
Mumbai's biggest strength is their batting. In Rohit and de Kock, Mumbai have an outstanding opening pair, while Suryakumar, Kishan and Krunal Pandya have done the job in the middle-order. However, their biggest game-changers in the last two-three seasons have been Pollard and Hardik. Only AB de Villiers (258) scored more runs than Pollard (233) and Hardik (219) in overs 16 to 20 last season. The two won them quite a few games and it was because of them Mumbai had the best scoring rate in the last five overs.
An array of Indian batting talents allow MI to play two overseas fast bowlers and the troika they form with Bumrah have been crucial to their success. In IPL 2020, Bumrah and Boult picked up 52 wickets between them and got good support from James Pattinson and Nathan Coulter-Nile. Their pacers had the best economy rate (7.9) and strike rate (16.9) last season, and it was because of them, Mumbai had the best record with the ball in the powerplay.
WEAKNESSES
Mumbai had the second-worst economy rate (8.1) and balls per wicket record (27.9) in the middle-overs last season and it had largely to do with their spinners. Krunal only managed six wickets at 50.2 balls per wicket, while Rahul Chahar scalped 15 wickets at 21.1 balls per wicket and an economy of 8.2. As a collective unit, the overall balls per wicket record of 30.05 for MI spinners was the worst among all sides.
Some of the MI batsmen struggled against offspinners and as a result, they had the second-worst batting strike rate (115.9) against such type of bowlers. The likes of Kishan (98.2), Rohit (106.5) and de Kock (111.5) didn't have a great strike rate against offspinners and the opponents could target them in that department.
OPPORTUNITIES
Suryakumar, Kishan and Chahar recently featured in the T20I series against England and will be on their toes this season with the T20 World Cup coming up later this year. Their eagerness to do well in IPL 2021 and cement their places for the T20 World Cup will only help Mumbai. Kishan (516) and Suryakumar (480) were MI's leading run-scorers in the last edition and would be once again expected to get those big scores.
As mentioned above, the spinners didn't have a great last year and Mumbai bought experienced Piyush Chawla in the 2021 auction. The 32-year-old legspinner has featured in 164 IPL games and has picked up 156 wickets, and is only behind Lasith Malinga (170) and Amit Mishra (160) in the list of highest wicket-takers. Playing for Gujarat in the 2021 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, Chawla picked up five wickets in as many games at an economy of just 6.4. Chawla could prove to be a handy backup if Chahar fails to deliver.
Mumbai surprisingly let go of Pattinson ahead of the 2021 auction but managed to get back Coulter-Nile. They also got Adam Milne, Marco Jansen and James Neesham as back-ups. Bumrah and Boult will be their leading pacers but MI have got decent support for them in Coulter-Nile and Milne who bowled at an economy of under eight in the last edition of Big Bash League. However, don't be surprised if MI throw in Jansen straightaway into the mix. MI have been "tracking Marco for the last two years" and the 20-year-old left-arm fast bowler from South Africa could surprise everyone with his pace and bounce and his big-hitting ability.
The MI team management would be delighted with the fact that Hardik has started bowling full tilt. The all-rounder was devastating with the bat last season but didn't bowl a single over. However, Hardik bowled 17 overs in five T20Is against England and looked in a good rhythm. The right-arm seamer took only three wickets but conceded runs at an outstanding economy of 6.94, only bettered by Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the series. And, if Hardik could continue to bowl at least a couple of overs every game, Mumbai will become even stronger.
THREATS
Boult had his best IPL season last year, as he picked up 25 wickets at a strike rate of 13.8. The left-arm seamer has been very inconsistent in IPL over the years and if he is not at his best, Mumbai would have to over-rely on Bumrah. Coulter-Nile and Milne are prone to injuries and this could come back to haunt MI as they don't have quality Indian seamers as ready replacements.
Mumbai's spin attack is not their strong suit and if the opposition could target that, the MI bowling unit could be found wanting. In short, Mumbai don't have a bowler apart from Bumrah who could be expected to deliver on a consistent basis.
PROBABLE XI
Rohit Sharma (c), Quinton de Kock (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Nathan Coulter-Nile/Marco Jansen, Rahul Chahar, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah.
