Mumbai Indians, the most successful team in terms of title victories in the Indian Premier League (Indian T20) with five wins to their name, return to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for the second leg of the 2021 addition on the back of an ordinary run in the first round which was played earlier this year in India. Mumbai Indians had stretched their domination in Indian T20 with a fifth title victory in the UAE last year in Indian T20 2020, and the Rohit Sharma-led team would look to replicate their performance.
The devastating second wave of the coronavirus pandemic brought about an abrupt halt to the proceedings in India, forcing the organisers to take the tournament elsewhere out of the country. This halt also perhaps robbed Mumbai Indians of an opportunity to peak in the later stages of Indian T20 2021, something that they are known for and something that has worked in their favour more often than not.
It is well known that Mumbai Indians are perennial slow starters in Indian T20 tournaments and they tend to find form and rhythm as a team towards the second half of the league round. Mumbai Indians were placed at the fourth spot in the Indian T20 2021 points table with 4 victories and 3 defeats in 7 matches played so far giving them 8 points when the tournament was postponed, but the second leg of the tournament in the UAE will require them to find form as well as rhythm as soon as the action gets underway.
Mumbai Indians could not have asked for a better start than the one they will make against their arch-rivals Chennai Super Kings, arguably the second best team in the history of the tournament, but the one which the five-time title winners have dominated. Mumbai Indians have won 19 out of 31 matches that they have played against Chennai Super Kings, which also includes the stunning victory which they recorded by four wickets at the Feroz Shah Kotla in New Delhi, chasing down a humongous total of 219 to win, powered by Kieron Pollard’s 87 from 34 balls (6x4s, 8x6s).
Mumbai Indians’ Recap of Indian T20 2021 first leg
Mumbai Indians started off the tournament with a narrow two-wicket defeat against Royal Challengers Bangalore but recovered well to defeat Kolkata Knight Riders by 10 runs and Sunrisers Hyderabad by 13 runs in the next two games. However, in their contest against last year’s finalists Delhi Capitals — whom they beat to record their fifth title victory — were too good for Mumbai Indians as they won by six wickets. The Rohit Sharma-led team slipped further in the next contest when they lost to Punjab Kings by a huge margin of 9 wickets, but did well to recover and beat Rajasthan Royals by 7 wickets and eventually Chennai Super Kings.
Rohit Sharma did not look in his usual elements but still managed 250 runs in seven matches with one half-century, which was the best performance by any Mumbai Indians batsman in the first leg of Indian T20 2021. At the second spot was Suryakumar Yadav, who garnered 173 runs in seven matches. Among bowlers, Rahul Chahar with 11 wickets was impressive followed by Trent Boult with 8 wickets and Jasprit Bumrah with 6.
Changes in the squad ahead of Indian T20 2021 second leg
Mumbai Indians are that team who do not change their squad a lot and they carry plenty of backup options for every single role and responsibility, which eventually contributes to positive results. Mumbai Indians do not have any player missing the second leg of Indian T20 2021, as is the case with a few other teams.
Players to watch out for in Indian T20 2021 second leg
For his performance in England with the bat in the Test series, Mumbai captain Rohit looks primed for a dominating run in the remainder of Indian T20 2021 with the other power-packed batsmen such as Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan and Kieron Pollard in tow. Hardik Pandya will want to use the opportunity of this second leg to find form ahead of the T20 World Cup which will be held right after the conclusion of Indian T20, and his brother Kunal will be eager to make a point after he was not selected in the Indian contingent for the first Cricket T20 tournament in five years (last T20 World Cup was held in India in 2016).
Jasprit Bumrah looked fit and in rhythm in England whereas his other bowling partners in Adam Milne and Trent Boult along with Nathan Coulter-Nile will be eager to replicate their performance from last year, even though they are missing a vital cog in form of James Pattinson who was critical in their title win.
Expectations from Mumbai Indians in Indian T20 2021 second leg
The stage is set for Mumbai Indians to maximise the form which some of their crucial players such as Rohit, Bumrah and a few others have shown in recent international assignments. Mumbai Indians are a team who attain peak form in the later stages of Indian T20 tournaments and it is time for them to make a mark, having failed to do so in India a few months ago. The aim for the team will be to finish better at the end of the league stage than how they did in the first seven matches, with competition intensifying after other teams such as Delhi Capitals, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Chennai Super Kings showing great intent and rhythm in India.
Mumbai Indians’ players with most fantasy points in Indian T20 2021 (first leg):
Rahul Chahar 346 points, Kieron Pollard 336 points, Rohit Sharma, 326 points, Suryakumar Yadav 273 points, Krunal Pandya 259 points, Quinton de Kock 248 points, Trent Boult 225 points, Jasprit Bumrah 216 points, Hardik Pandya 119 points, Ishan Kishan 94 points.
Devarchit Varma is a cricket writer and journalist with an experience of more than a decade, having worked at Hindustan Times (newspaper) and CricketCountry (website). Along with covering international and domestic cricket, he has also interviewed several current and former top players such as Rohit Sharma, Steve Smith, Dale Steyn, Michael Hussey, Jacques Kallis, Brendon McCullum, Shane Watson, Lasith Malinga and many more. He has also worked in other beats as a journalist in Bollywood (Reliance BigOye) and IT (SiliconIndia) industries.
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