3 crucial aspects behind Mumbai Indians' comeback in IPL 2023
The Mumbai Indians (MI) have once again staged an incredible comeback in the backend of an IPL season and are now just one step away from making the final of IPL 2023.
MI are traditionally known to be slow starters and their first half of the tournament was far from convincing, losing both of their first two games. However, the turnaround was incredible as they won nine out of their next 13 games to set up a clash with the Gujarat Titans (GT) in Qualifier 2 in Ahmedabad.
There are a number of factors that have worked for Rohit Sharma and Co. that helped them step up and rub off all the disappointment from the first half of the tournament. On that note, let's take a look at three factors that helped Mumbai Indians stage an incredible comeback:
#3 Jason Behrendorff's impact with the new ball
What a turnaround for Jason Behrendorff 🔥
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MI certainly felt the pinch of not having quality new ball bowlers like Jasprit Bumrah and Trent Boult at their disposal. The likes of Jhye Richardson and Bumrah were already ruled out of the tournament, while Jofra Archer also had to leave after aggravating his elbow injury.
But the smart trade that Mumbai made to bring in Jason Behrendorff has proved to be critical as he is the unsung hero for them of late. Behrendorff has picked up eight wickets in the powerplay at an economy rate of just 7.75 and has often struck with the new ball, getting his team off to the perfect start.
#2 Suryakumar Yadav & Cameron Green peaking
What a shot by SKY! 🔥
Simply incredible! 🤩
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At the start of the season, Suryakumar Yadav seemed like a shadow of himself, and understandably so after the horrific ODI series that he had against Australia. This was a major reason why the Mumbai Indians' batting wasn't clicking in the initial few games.
However, a breezy cameo of 43 against Kolkata Knight Riders and SKY has never looked back. He already has 544 runs for the season at an incredible strike rate of 183.78 with four half-centuries and a fantastic hundred against GT.
MI also seem to have figured out that No.3 is the best position for Australian star all-rounder Cameron Green. A superb hundred against the Sunrisers Hyderabad, followed by a crucial cameo against Lucknow in the Eliminator has shown that even he has found form at the right time.
#1 Akash Madhwal's breakout season
Akash Madhwal has turned out to be the backbone of Mumbai bowling 🤩
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Arguably the most impactful entry that helped the Mumbai Indians get into Qualifier 2 is that of Uttarakhand pacer Akash Madhwal. MI tried several combinations in their pace bowling, but Madhwal's selection proved to be just the one they needed.
In seven matches, Akash Madhwal has proved to be the go-to bowler for captain Rohit Sharma, picking up 13 wickets out of which nine have come in the last two games. He has proved to be reliable in all phases of the game and that's solved some of the major issues Mumbai Indians had in their pace bowling.