2013, 2015, 2017; Can Mumbai Indians continue their wining sequence in 2019?

Mumbai Indians suffered as many as five last-over losses in 2018 and as a result were unsuccessful in qualifying for the play-offs. While they had a good team on paper, they were unable to hold their nerve in the crunch moments which led to their downfall.

Mumbai Indians have been a team to watch out for in the auctions over the years. They have given the Indian team a huge talent pool from captain Rohit Sharma to the Pandya brothers and Jasprit Bumrah.

The owners treat their players as a family; keeping Lasith Malinga and Kieron Pollard despite their dipping form and increasing age is an example of that. They had also bid for Dwayne Bravo and Harbhajan Singh in the past as a sign of acknowledgement of their services to the blue camp.

But the retention of Pollard instead of Jos Buttler last year didn’t go down well among the fans. And their contrasting numbers in IPL 2018 proved that they made a rare auction blunder.

Mumbai Indians were again a talked-about franchise post the 2019 auctions as they bought Malinga and Yuvraj Singh for their base prices. They surely earned a lot of new supporters by buying the left-handed veteran, and in the process they also addressed a key issue in the lineup.

Their major concern last year was a fragile middle order. A line-up which included Hardik, Krunal and Cutting/Pollard missed an experienced player who could hold the innings together and provide the stability it requires. Hence Rohit had to drop himself down at four and was nowhere near as lethal as he is at the top.

While Rohit had his worst IPL ever, JP Duminy failed to capitalize on his opportunities and Pollard’s horrible form didn't help their cause either. But now with Yuvraj in the middle order, it gives Rohit the freedom to move back to the opening slot.

Rohit along with Evin Lewis could be the most dangerous opening pair of the tournament. Yuvraj may not be as threatening as he was in his glory days, but the sight of even a wounded lion could send jitters down the opposition's spine.

Led by Jasprit Bumrah, Mumbai’s fast bowling attack seems as sturdy as an oak. Jason Behrendorff, who missed the IPL last year, has now grown by leaps and bounds, making it into the Australian team. He along with Barinder Sran will learn a lot from the newly appointed director of cricket operations, Zaheer Khan.

The experience of Malinga and Mitchell McClenaghan will be useful in supporting Bumrah at the death, something that Mustafizur and Cutting could not provide last year.

Though Mumbai lack an experienced spinner, Mayank Markande and Rahul Chahar could do well in tandem with Krunal to form a decent attack.

Mumbai Indians surely have a number of match winners, but in T20 cricket it’s all about seizing the important moments. And the three time champions know how to do that better than any.

Can they do it again, and continue their sequence of winning in odd years? Yes, they can.