MUMBAI: Now that much water has passed under the bridge, the biggest task in front of Mumbai Indians will be to arrest their season from spiralling out of control.
Not that they haven’t in the past. In 2014 they lost five on the trot but still made it to the playoffs. In 2015 they suffered four-straight defeats before going on to clinch the title.
In the 2024 edition, they have been slow off the blocks once again having lost their first three.But unlike those two campaigns, things are a bit different this time around.
The reception to Hardik Pandya taking over from Rohit Sharma has been hostile and it remains to be seen whether the five-time champions can get over the upheaval and return to winning ways.
On Sunday, in an afternoon start, they will take on Delhi Capitals, who have also suffered a stuttered start winning just one off four and are coming off a comprehensive defeat at the hands of Kolkata Knight Riders.
MI players were taken on a team bonding session for a couple of days at their Jamnagar facility just to take their mind off the game and refocus on the job ahead. During Saturday’s nets sessions the mood looked upbeat.
One good news for MI is that Suryakumar Yadav has regained full fitness and will be available for selection against DC. Barring Surya and Jasprit Bumrah most of the senior players attended the nets session.
Skipper Pandya, had a good 45-minute session while Rohit Sharma limited himself to light drills.
SKY’s return will bring some relief to the MI batting order that has struggled to get going-barring the match against Sunrisers Hyderabad-especially in the middle-order. Tilak Varma has been waging a lone battle in that position with Pandya and Tim David yet to deliver.
The key to them putting a huge total on board or chasing down one will also depend on how their opening combination of Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan start.
While chasing 278 against SRH, the duo fired MI to 56 in just 3.1 overs and till the 15th over it looked like MI would hunt down the mammoth target. If both get going on a consistent basis, not many line-ups can stop them from going hammer and tongs.
The real worry for MI though is their bowling lineup which they have revamped over the last few seasons but still looks fragile. If Jasprit Bumrah doesn’t fire, they look a bit pedestrian.
That they once again lost a couple of bowlers due to Injuries- this time left-arm pacers Jason Behrendorff and Dilshan Madushanka-hasn’t helped their cause.
Akash Madhwal once again impressed while playing his first match of the season against Rajasthan Royals and MI will hope that he continues to support Bumrah. They will also hope for more from their South African imports-teenage left-arm pacer Kwena Maphaka and right-arm speedster Gerald Coetzee.
Meanwhile, Sourav Ganguly, DC’s director of cricket, revealed during the media interaction that Australian allrounder Mitchell Marsh is injured.
DC are already without Kuldeep Yadav who has been advised rest as he is suffering from a groin niggle. Marsh’s unavailability further depletes DC’s batting strength.
Barring skipper Rishabh Pant and Tristan Stubbs, DC need another consistent batter in the middle-order to take them over the line.
Sunday’s match will be witnessed by over 18,000 children including 200 kids with special needs as part of their annual ESA (Education and Sports for All) day.
