Dubai, Nov 4 (ISF): There can be no price to name the most successful and consistent team in Indian Premier League (IPL). It has to be none other than the Mumbai Indians (MI) – be it the 13th edition of the league or all the 13 seasons collectively.
The Ambani-owned franchise has won four editions of IPL until now, with championship wins in every alternate season since 2013. The team led by Rohit Sharma is now inching closer to retain the coveted title.
After competing well in the first five seasons of the IPL, MI could not quite cross the final hurdle. However, it all changed as soon as Mumbai-grown Rohit Sharma was appointed as the captain.
The ‘Hitman’ proved to be the ultimate MI talisman while leading the ‘Blue Brigade’ to all four title victories. However, the success mantra for the so-called ‘MI-Paltan’ lies in the ‘family culture’ forged by the high-profile owners themselves. Viewers, who binge-watched Netflix docuseries ‘Cricket Fever’ will be well aware of the nitty-gritties of MI culture.
Over the years, the MI think-tank believed in giving opportunities to rookies, who have usually risen to the occasion as and when required. In recent years, MI has had the knack of unearthing unknown talents who even went on to represent India at the highest level in the sport.
The likes of Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, and Krunal Pandya have all donned the blue flannels of Team India, coming from humble backgrounds.
This year’s IPL season has had its share of challenges for MI. They lost their opening game against their arch-rivals Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in IPL 2020. Coming into the second game, MI were yet to open their account in UAE turf, despite featuring in six games, spanned around six years.
Moreover, the defending champions found exceptional winning form during the tournament and went on to live up to the tag of ‘favourites’ and ‘team to beat’. With nine victories in the league stage, MI topped the table with 18 points.
Interestingly, they have found different heroes at different stages of the tournament, whenever the team demanded performances from their personnel.
MI possess three batsmen – Quinton de Kock (443), Ishan Kishan (428) and Suryakumar Yadav (410) – who have amassed more than 400 runs in the tournament.
Bumrah is giving a stiff fight to Kagiso Rabada (25 wickets) for the Purple Cap with 23 wickets to his name. Trent Boult (20 wickets) and Rahul Chahar (15 wickets) are also amongst the top 10 wicket-takers in the tournament.
Nevertheless, their prime challenge is to lift an IPL trophy in a year ending with an even number. Fans will have to wait and see whether they book their place in the final in the high-octane contest scheduled on Thursday.
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