IPL 2021: 3 milestones the Mumbai Indians can achieve this season
Mumbai Indians (MI) are the most decorated team in the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL). They have won the league on five occasions. They secured title number five last year in the UAE.
MI have plenty of proven match-winners like Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah and Kieron Pollard to name a few. They have created many milestones in their journey with this star-studded franchise. Here’s looking at three milestones that Mumbai Indians (MI) can achieve in IPL 2021:
Rohit Sharma can become the second most successful captain in IPL history
Ever since "The Hitman" Rohit Sharma took over the captaincy for MI in 2013, he has led the side admirably. He has been the skipper in their successful campaigns of 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2020. That is some achievement and one that would take some beating.
But along the way he has won 68 games for Mumbai Indians and is only three wins away from the tournament’s second most successful captain, Gautam Gambhir( 71 wins).
So if and when MI win four more games in the IPL in 2021, Rohit can overtake Gambhir and become the second most successful captain in the history of this league, just behind MS Dhoni who leads the chart with 110 wins. (All wins and stats here were compiled prior to the start of the 2021 edition of the tournament).
Jasprit Bumrah could become the second-highest wicket-taker for Mumbai Indians(MI).
MI’s players are known to make the transition from franchise to representing their countries rather seamlessly.
India has benefited a lot as a result of this as players like Jasprit, ‘Boom Boom’ Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Rahul Chahar, Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan have made it to their national teams after playing very well for Mumbai in the IPL.
Bumrah has probably become the best bowler across all formats in world cricket. The fast bowling sensation and leader of the MI bowling attack could become the second-highest wicket-taker for the franchise after Harbhajan Singh.
As of now, "Boom Boom" has scalped 110 wickets in 95 matches and is only 18 wickets short of going past an Indian legend, ‘The Turbinator’ Harbhajan Singh’s tally of 127 wickets. For someone who has played for MI for just seven seasons, this is certainly a fantastic achievement!
Kieron Pollard needs seven wickets to achieve a rare feat; 300 wickets and 10,000 runs in T20s
It's a known fact that Kieron Pollard is a genuine match-winner and has been for a while for MI. The West Indies all-rounder has been among the most successful players in T20 cricket.
He recently produced a Man of the Match performance against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). A major highlight of his innings was his monstrous 105m six off the bowling of Mujeeb-Ur-Rehman.
In his illustrious career as a T20 all-rounder, Pollard is nearing a coveted milestone; one that very few players in the world of cricket can boast of.
If he can get seven wickets during the 2021 edition of the IPL, he will join the elusive club of cricketers who have taken 300 wickets and have scored more than 10,000 runs in T20s.