5 things Mumbai Indians have done right this year to turn their season around

After back-to-back losses in their first four Indian Premier League (IPL) opening matches, Mumbai Indians (MI) collapsed helplessly. But soon after, a sudden transient rush in MI’s each player was noticed as they won 8 matches out of their last 10 league games to comfortably book their place in the playoffs.

Then they met table-toppers Chennai Super Kings in the qualifiers and thrashed them to become the first team to progress into the IPL 8 finals. Now people are shocked seeing Mumbai's surge and they are all left with one simple question that how did this happen? Especially the opponent's fans. And to answer that query, we have listed out 5 things which the paltan did to turn their season around.

Here are the five sparks that turnaround the MI season:

1. Lasith Malinga and Mitchel McClenaghan

Lasith Malinga and Mitchel McClenaghan

MI wanted Lasith Malinga to fire, but his 4 overs alone were not enough.He needed solid support from the other end and Mitchell McClenaghan who came in as a replacement for Aaron Finch, provided that support.

McClenaghan's aggressive bowling with Malinga's toe-crusher deliveries have made them one of IPL 8's most lethal bowling pairs.They have 37 wickets combined to their name from 15 matches and are ready for the final showdown.

2. Hardik Pandya and Jagadeesha Suchit

Hardik Pandya and Jagadeesha Suchit

MI's bowling got some spin support in the name of Jagadeesha Suchith. Suchith's left-arm orthodox deliveries deceived many batsmen at crucial points during many matches. He has 10 wickets to his name from 12 matches.

Hardik Pandya became MI's hero after the knock against the Chennai Super Kings in a crucial match where he came and smashed 3 huge sixes in the end to turn the match towards Mumbai's side. He was adjudged Man of the Match then for his quick batting blows and good fielding efforts with 3 catches.

Pandya again played a crucial part in the do-or-die match against the Kolkata Knight Riders when his 61 off 31 balls helped MI set a defendable target against KKR's strong batting line-up.

Both players have surprised their opponents with their smart play and this is one important reason behind MI strong comeback.

3. Lendl Simmons and Parthiv Patel

Lendl Simmons and Parthiv Patel

MI were troubled the most at the top of their batting order. Aaron Finch and Rohit Sharma opened the innings for a few matches in the start, but they failed. Their highest opening pair score was 8 runs.

Skipper Rohit was quick to change this as he brought in Lendl Simmons after Aaron's injury and Parthiv Patel in place of Aditya Tare. Rohit moved himself to no. 3 position and asked these two to start. They didn't fail and were up to the mark.

Their composed and calm batting display started adding runs in the start of Mumbai's innings and that gave licence to the middle-order to take risks and move towards a bigger total. The two batsmen have added 811 runs combined in 13 matches.

4. Kieron Pollard

Kieron Pollard

After the in-form Corey Anderson got injured, the weight of all-rounder and especially a big hitter in the middle-order came onto Kieron Pollard. He responded responsibly by adding runs at the end of the innings with a really good strike-rate.

Pollard has scored 383 runs in 15 matches with a strike-rate of 160. The Jamaican is a true match winner for Mumbai as he can smash almost every bowler in the world from the first ball he faces. His smashing changes the bowler's rhythm and that is what he did down the order, he has 25 sixes (second-highest after Chris Gayle's 35) to his name in the tournament.

5. Harbhajan Singh

Harbhajan Singh

For any team, an experienced player is an added gem and that is what Harbhajan Singh is for MI. When his bowling didn't work, he picked up his bat and scored a quick-fire 19-balls fifty against the Kings XI Punjab's formidable bowling side.

He showed in that match, which MI lost eventually even after his heroic efforts, that he wants to win for his team anyhow. Soon the off-spinner also came in his avatar and started troubling batsmen.

Now he is the second-highest wicket-taker in the team with 16 wickets from 14 matches and is all gearing up for the finals at the Eden Gardens' turning track.