IPL 2019: Three common factors for Mumbai Indians between 2019 and their title-winning seasons

Mumbai Indians is a team that works all through the year despite Indian Premier League being played only in April-May. Their squad has never been short of the star attraction with the great Sachin Tendulkar at the helm of affairs.

Even in the auction, they have always targeted the big fish in the list. Mumbai have gone on to buy them despite incurring huge amounts of money. Kieron Pollard in 2010, Davy Jacobs in 2011, Richard Levi in 2012, Glenn Maxwell in 2013, Corey Anderson in 2014, and Jos Buttler in 2016 are such examples.

A major highlight in the journey of MI is their talent scout teams. It is a selection crew that goes to the nook and corner of India to find the next breakout star. It was once headed by the former head coach of India, John Wright. It was he who found the young sensation Jasprit Bumrah.

The likes of Hardik Pandya and Krunal Pandya are some of the finds of the scouting teams who have gone to represent India with some of them playing key roles in the upsurge of the side. To add to that, their support staffs have been top international stars.

A team that is based out of a city with a rich cricketing culture it isn't a surprise that they have been one of the most consistent sides in the history of the IPL. But they struggled in the initial years of the league.

Mumbai failed to qualify for the playoffs in the first two seasons. Although they finished as table-toppers in 2010, they were beaten by Chennai Super Kings in the final. It took six years for MI to win their first IPL crown and they have won two more titles in the next four years.

One thing that is being noticed is the presence of a common pattern in their performances during their title wins. To the delight of the fans of Mumbai, it appears as if those factors seemed to be working in this year as well. Let's look at three factors common between Mumbai's title-winning years and this year.

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#1 A newly drafted/replacement player topping the batting charts

Quinton de Kock has been scoring runs consistently at the top of the order (Picture courtesy: iplt20.com)

2013 - Dinesh Karthik

2015 - Lendl Simmons

2017 - Parthiv Patel

2019 - Quinton de Kock

IPL has an exclusive trade window where players can be either swapped between teams or induct a new player by paying a huge sum. As mentioned earlier, Mumbai has been one of the most proactive teams in the IPL.

Mumbai have capitalized and benefitted some such deals as these players have played key roles in their title-winning years. Dinesh Karthik was roped in for a whopping ₹12.4 crore in 2013. He along with Rohit Sharma scored heaps of runs in the middle order to their maiden title win.

Lendl Simmons and Parthiv Patel had a similar impact in 2015 and 2017 respectively as they were the leading run-scorers for Mumbai in those years. Both of them were inked through such deals. The Rohit Sharma-led side struck another golden deal by signing wicket-keeper Quinton de Kock in 2019.

The southpaw has been consistent at the top of the order as he is leading the batting charts with 378 runs. With him available for the entire duration of the tournament, his willow could decide the fate of Mumbai.

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#2 Kieron Pollard firing with the bat

Pollard single-handedly won a game for MI against KXIP (Picture courtesy: iplt20.com)

2013 - 420 runs in 18 Innings

2015 - 419 runs in 14 innings

2017 - 385 runs in 16 Innings

2019 - 195 runs in 10 Innings

Kieron Pollard has been with Mumbai Indians since 2010. Over the years IPL has seen an inconsistent Pollard representing the Mumbai Indians. He would play a cameo or two in a season and safeguard the boundary lines with this staggering fielding.

But when he performs well with the bat, Mumbai has gone on to win the tournament. To be precise, every time Pollard has scored 350+ runs in a season Mumbai Indians have had their hands on the trophy.

His runs tally of 420 in 2013, 419 in 2015, 385 in 2017 shows the impact the Trinidadian has had in the fortune of Mumbai. Doubts were raised about his inclusion in 2019, but he silenced the critics with a stunning 31-ball 83 against Kings XI Punjab. Mumbai will be hoping for the big man to play such knocks for them to become a four-time champion.

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#3 Two overseas fast bowlers leading the bowling attack

Malinga and Behrendorff have chipped in with useful contributions (Picture courtesy: iplt20.com)

2013 - Lasith Malinga and Mitchell Johnson

2015 - Lasith Malinga and Mitchell McClenaghan

2017 - Lasith Malinga and Mitchell McClenaghan

2019 - Lasith Malinga and Jason Behrendorff

One of the key factors for every IPL side has been the selection of four overseas players in the line-up. IPL winning sides have always had an overseas fast bowler in the playing XI. Sohail Tanvir in 2008, Ryan Harris in 2009, Doug Bollinger in 2010, Morne Morkel in 2014, and Mustafizur Rahman in 2016 are such examples.

Mumbai was lucky enough to have the tournament's leading wicket-taker in Lasith Malinga right from the league's inception. Although he was picking up wickets, he lacked support from the other end. Hence Mitchell Johnson was brought into the side to control the powerplay.

His exploits helped MI to win the title in 2013. They then hired a new left-arm bowler in McClenaghan. He bowled brilliantly and picked up wickets regularly in the season winning campaigns in 2015 and 2017.

In 2019 Malinga has a new partner in Jason Behrendorff who is one of the best young swing bowlers in the cricketing arena. If he compliments the Sri Lankan, then MI does have a great shot at the trophy.

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