5 things that can change Mumbai Indians' fortune this season

Mumbai Indians traditionally have been known for their slow and sluggish start in the tournament. Even in the 2 out of their 3 title-winning campaigns the Mumbai Indians had a nightmarish start to the tournament before coming back strongly to emerge as the champions out of nowhere.

That being said the Mumbai Indians would be disappointed with the way things have turned out for them in the 11th edition of the league. MI have not registered a single win in this season and would be desperate to get their first win against the Royal Challengers Bangalore on Tuesday.

What has been more disheartening for them is the fact that in all the three games MI were so close to their first win yet so far in retrospect.

Here are a few things that MI would try and work on to get their presence felt on the points table.

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#5. The return of the Pandya brothers in top form

Pandya brothers are a vital component of the MI squad

Over the last few years, the Pandya brothers-Krunal Pandya (retained via Right to Match) and Hardik Pandya (retained prior to the auctions), have been one of the primary pillars of MI’s massive success in the league. The duo of all-rounders provide balance to the team and make Rohit Sharma’s job a lot easier as a captain.

Apart from their batting abilities, the Pandya brothers provide a left arm spinning as well as a right arm pace bowling option and have on many occasions proved to be a blessing for the Mumbai Indians.

However, the Pandya brothers have not been in full form this season and have failed to create the desired impact. MI will expect the Pandya brothers to produce their top game for the remainder of the tournament.

#4. The West Indian firepower should come through

Lewis needs to be consistent at the top of the order

Before the beginning of the IPL, there was a lot of buzz around Evin Lewis’s IPL debut. However, apart from his innings against the Delhi Daredevils, the southpaw has not been impressive. MI would hope that their opening batsman becomes more consistent in the matches to come and provide MI with some breathtaking starts like the one against the Daredevils, the other day in Mumbai.

Kieron Pollard hasn’t been at his best either in the three IPL games that the Mumbai franchise has played. Now that Pollard does not roll his arms over, his consistency as a batsman is a big area of concern for the MI.

When the West Indian duo is on song, the opposition bowling unit can just watch the ball sail over the fence.

#3. Striving for a settled unit

MI

have failed to gather a settled unit this season

This has been MI’s problem in the initial phase of almost every season. MI has failed yet again to get together a settled unit and a batting line up.

Mitchell McClenaghan got a game and was dropped; Suryakumar Yadav batted in the middle order and was then asked to open the innings; Akila Dananjaya made his IPL debut but may feel unsure of his spot in the next match; Rohit opened in the first two innings and failed, batted in the middle order and failed again and may not know where to place himself in the batting order.

Thus the Mumbai Indians are finding it hard to put together a settled unit. Ahead of their fourth match against the Royal Challengers Bangalore, Rohit Sharma will have quite a task ahead of him to gather a settled well-functioning unit where everybody is aware of his precise role in the team.

#2. Skipper, o skipper, show them the way

Sharma has not been among the runs in the tournament

The most successful captain in IPL history, Rohit Sharma has not been among the runs in the tournament. The master of the shorter formats of the game, Rohit Sharma can make batting look ridiculously easy when on song.

However, the Mumbai skipper has scored just 44 runs in 3 matches which is clearly affecting the team’s performance and confidence.

MI will be hoping for Rohit Sharma to activate his beast mode and display his best performances in the matches to come ahead and inspire the presently dismal looking side.

#1. Prevail in the key moments

This year

MI

have failed to win the deciding moments of the game

Mumbai Indians have lost all three games which could have easily gone in their favor. The inability of the team to keep their cool and perform under pressure and match-deciding situations have hurt them badly and pushed them to the last position on the points table.

MI are the only team in the league that has no wins alongside its name in the ongoing season.

In the first match against the Chennai Super Kings, MI ticked all the boxes before gifting the match to Bravo’s brilliance in the final few overs.

Against the Sunrisers Hyderabad, MI came rushing from behind to lose in the final over. In their last encounter against the Delhi Daredevils, MI still had 10-11 runs in their bank to defend in the last over and with a run to win off the last ball MI could still have managed to push the game into the super over.

However, MI ended up losing on all three occasions. A hopeful MI will try and work on these areas to stay in the race for the playoffs.