What’s more surprising is the fact that none of the wins came against thakelateams. Win number one came against The KnightRiders at home while win numbers two and three came against the unbeaten Delhi Daredevils (The team that we at IPLrocks.com considered perhaps the strongest before the tournament began) and as I mentioned earlier, the Rajasthan Royals.
While the batting line-up of the Mumbai Indians has failed to put up an impressive performance in any of the three matches, the bowling and the fielding has done the trick.
Leading the bowling attack is the most consistent batsman for the Mumbai Indians; Shaun Pollock, who is as kanjoos as a Gujju businessman when it comes to giving away runs. The shoddy Ashish Nehra too seems to have raised his game a few notches. But for me the most impressive bowler has been Dhawal Kulkarni. The 19-year-old lad looked absolutely lost in the first match against the Royal Challengers but has shown with time that he is a thinking bowler. I am particularly impressed with his surprise bouncers and Yorkers. His bowling partner Raje who has now played 2 matches has also shown promise. Might I add, he has a killer slower delivery.
Dwayne Bravo who was summoned at the last minute to replace Lasith Malinga has proved to be total VFM, but when he departs for the West Indies v/s Australia series, it’s definitely going to hurt the Mumbai Indians.
"Shaun Pollock is as kanjoos
as a Gujju businessman when it
comes to giving away runs"
Another area the Mumbai Indians need to sort out is the wicketkeeper issue. The Indians have 3 specialist wicketkeepers Luke Ronchi, Pinal Shah and Yogesh Takawale (in order of preference). Ronchi (who was picked because he is considered Gilchrist’s heir apparent in the Aussie domestic circle) has failed to deliver with the bat at the top of the order. Pinal Shah in my opinion looked solid behind the stumps but didn’t get a long enough run to prove himself. The current choice Yogesh Takawale, set a record for the most dismissals in an IPL match by a keeper yesterday, but the lesser said about his batting, the better.
I think the best strategy for the Mumbai Indians would be to get Ronchi back into the side when Dwayne Bravo departs. With Tendulkar set to return in the next couple of matches, the opening slot will be taken care of anyway. If this combination clicks, the winning trend might just be here to stay.
