Introduction
The 2007 Indo Pak final laid the foundation for the perfect storm- the Indian Premier League (IPL). CSK vs MI has been to IPL as Karachi Kings vs Lahore Qalandars to PSL or England vs Australia to the sanctity of Test Cricket.
Memories of the 2019 IPL Final still resurface when Shane Watson's heroics coupled with a bloodied knee almost singlehandedly won the game for the Yellow Army. Pictures of Rohit Sharma hugging Malinga after his slow ball yorker to Shardul Thakur (how fitting it was for Slinga to take a wicket with his final ball in IPL history) paint a thousand words, a moment personified especially when Quinton De Kock referred to that game as one of the most emotional moments of his career (miss you in Test Cricket Quinny). MI would go on to boss the next edition of the game with CSK launching a counterpunch in 2021.
However, fast forward to 2022, the tables have turned for MI. The runs have dried up, victories ain't coming in the bag, and simply put, the team looks deflated and down on momentum. Even the strongest MI fan on the planet can't help but feel a bit overwhelmed by the change in fortunes of prolly one of the best teams in IPL history that has, momentarily, lost its purple patch.
Keywords: batting, auction model, death over balling
First Cause- Overreliance on Jasprit Bumrah in the Death Overs
MI is getting a tad bit overreliant on the likes of Jasprit Burmrah in the death-over stages (glimpses of this phenomenon were witnessed during the inaugural World Test Championship 2021 Final) We start by analyzing their opening match against DC. MI, riding on a strong opening partnership bossed the power play. Ishan Kishan roared back to form, hammering 81 off 48 deliveries, striking 11 boundaries, and launching two maximums into the ballpark at a strike rate of 168.75. The dangerous Prithvi Shaw's departure with more than half the game to go turned the onus back in MI's favor but an unbeaten 75 runs seventh-wicket stand between L. Yadav and Axar Patel decimated any semblance of pressure that had been created by the blues in the aftermath of the southpaw's dismissal.
Second Cause-Absence of pacer Trent Boult
Boult can do it all, like Bumrah, Shaheen Shah Afridi (and slowly seeing Hazlewood appear in that category as well) in the smallest peg of the game. That magical delivery to send KL Rahul's stumps cartwheeling along with his thunderous exploits for MI in the previous seasons at the back-end of the match depict his all-around progress with the cherry on both sides. Let us be honest! The decision to swap Boult for Daniel Sams isn't really paying dividends with the left-arm bowler giving his everything to embrace the challenges associated with playing franchise cricket in South-East Asia in this part of the world going for 50 runs in the opening game and then being bludgeoned by Pat Cummins to exact some vengeance [for goings runs aplenty himself in the first innings. (Captaincy! Batting! Balling! Fielding! Bringing a much-needed smile to the Great SRK's face! Pat is simply relentless!)] for 35 runs in an over. It is fair to say his services in the medium-pace department coupled with his athletic prowess and the ability to make the tail wag, are being substantially missed by Mumbai Indians. Basil Thampi is a valuable addition so far buts it's early days to start asking too much from him in this echelon of the game.
Third Cause-Lacking Jofra Archer's X-factor
This in itself is one of the many dilemmas pertaining to the auction model ahead of the tournament, coupled possibly with the decision to overlook both Rahul Chahar and Nathan Counter-Nile. To bring the focus back to the main point, MI could clearly have used an express pacer with a fair bit of experience at the fag end of the game. It doesn't matter which form of the game is being played. Sheer pace can unsettle even top-tier batsmen (Examples being Jasprit Bumrah's electrifying yorker to end Josse Buttler's magnificent ton fest, Shoaib Akhtar's sizzling reverse swing aka one of the balls of the century against Adam Gilchrist, and Mark Wood's dominance over Marnus Labuschange in the latter passage of Ashes 2022)
Fourth Cause- Inability to post big totals batting first
It must appear insane that we are talking about this, given the depth of the squad that features big names like Rohit Sharma and Keiron Pollard not to mention the fresh insertion of Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav, with SKY playing a mesmerizing knock against RCB on 08/04/2022 to keep his side in the game. However, there is that old saying in life that too many cooks spoil the broth. Adam Zampa's classical googly to dismiss Keiron Pollard in the second ODI back in 2021 has definitely encouraged leg spinners to exploit his deficiency against a dearth of pace. Rohit Sharma continues to make prolific starts but isn't really managing to capitalize on them as often as a man of his stature would like to do. Perhaps the decision to drop Quinton De Kock this season might be rued.
Conclusion
You get that eery feeling every now and then this season that Mumbai Indians are 10-15 runs short. batting first, The absence of Boult's precision and accuracy when it comes to the death (making them win low-scoring encounters in the past) has generated a vacuum. There is that old saying in Political Science 'Power abhors a vacuum'. MI needs to find a way to make the batting department click and fire on all cylinders. Regardless of the pros and cons of their auction model, the emphasis must be to post 180+ scores consistently on these hi-octane batting tracks. Last, but not least, the death balling ante needs to be upped with the focus being on Basil striving hard to back Bumrah from the other end. Make no mistakes! Form is temporary and class is permanent! It's sad to see MI and CSK struggle for momentum after their golden saga from 2015 to 2022. Hopefully, with a bit of faith and some technical tweakings, these two esteemed teams, especially MI can brush off this lean patch and go back to being a force to be reckoned with once again in today's internet-wired satellite covered global village where our hopes are precariously positioned, like the most fragile piece of glass perched on the thinnest strand of wire as we pray for not one more drop of rain underneath an overcast sky.
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