Mumbai Indians are yet to register a win in this year’s tournament and are no where looking the team they were last year , where they managed to win both the IPL and the Champions League. Yes, they have undergone several changes and the most notable one is the exclusion of Glenn Maxwell , but Maxwell was never in their regular plans.
The team still has in it to make an impact but has lacked the right combination and the killer punch from some of it’s players. Here is a look at what has changed for them since the last year.
1: Opening combination: Dwayne Smith was a revolution for them in the last year and had set the platform for the likes of Rohit Sharma and Kieron Pollard. Though Tendulkar’s absence is not hurting them too much as he had no significant contribution for the team apart from his presence.
Mike Hussey has looked clueless and has put pressure on the middle order. He has just followed the foot steps of his Australian team mates Hayden and Symonds , who have come to IPL without any sort of practice. No matter how great one is , he still needs to be in touch to perform in a tournament like IPL. He is out of touch after last year’s IPL. CSK were very smart in excluding him.
It seems a better option if Rohit Sharma or Ambati Rayudu opens the innings and Mumbai accommodate some one else in place of struggling Hussey. Aditya Tare has performed reasonably well, though with a lot of criticism.
2: Corey Anderson: He came into limelight after his heroics for the national team . Mumbai bought him, though at a price much less than what was expected before the auction. He was expected to give that extra bit to the batting lineup but has so far failed. His exploits were mainly in New Zealand and he was never tested in the sub continental conditions. He has so far struggled in the tournament with the bat. He scored some runs against Chennai but were far too slow from his standards and was on a good batting track. He can surely contribute much more in Indian phase of the tournament , where Mumbai Indians will play bulk of their matches on a batting paradise wicket.
3: New ball bowling: Mitchell Johnson was an X-factor with the new ball last year , using IPL to make his way back into the Australian team. This year Mumbai is missing someone who can give initial strikes on a regular basis. Zaheer has been economical but is lacking that extra pace to cause the batsman any sort of discomfort.
4: Pollard : He has not yet fired in the tournament . He firing just adds 15 to 20 runs in the final total which can be decisive in the context of the game.
Whatever it may be, Mumbai Indians can fight back anytine and make it to the knock out stage of the tournament , like they did last time after a horrible start to the tournament.
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