Mumbai Indians registered their first win of IPL 2023 when they scraped past the Delhi Capitals in an absolute thriller at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. Their performance was not flawless and problems still persist with their bowling as well as middle-order batting.
However, the side will take plenty of confidence from this hard-fought win. The five-time champions are notoriously slow starters in the IPL, and this season the story is pretty much the same. However, they will now want to carry on with the momentum and as their captain said, the senior players in the side need to step up.
We take a look at three reasons why Mumbai Indians can get on a winning run after their win over Delhi Capitals:
#3 Piyush Chawla could have an impact
It’s early days, but spin has had a telling impact this year. Piyush Chawla has been doing a good job for the Mumbai Indians and as the tournament progresses, the experienced leg-break bowler will be very critical to Rohit Sharma’s plans.
Chawla has played all IPL seasons and understands the conditions in all stadiums. He is very experienced and can prove to be a trusted ally to Rohit Sharma.
He has started well and his form will be needed when the pressure is amped in the middle overs. Rohit too trusts his leggie and this combination will need to be consistent right through the season.
#2 Emergence of Tilak Verma
Tilak Varma was Mumbai Indians’ leading run-scorer last year and he continues to impress with his stroke play. He was the star against Royal Challengers Bangalore and brought his A-game to the fore against the Delhi Capitals.
On a pitch that assisted the spinners, Varma showed his nifty footwork and great wristwork. He was quick to pounce on anything short from the spinners and then waited for the full ball and even danced down the track to power the ball away.
He is getting all the eyeballs for his clean hitting, but as per former India coach Ravi Shastri, the maturity shown by him should get him an India cap in the next six months.
Varma will be the glue for Mumbai in the middle order and if Suryakumar Yadav finds his range, Mumbai could well be on their way to dominating bowling attacks.
#1 Rohit and the opening combination
After a wait of 25 innings, Rohit Sharma finally hit form and slammed a half-century. It was regal, pleasing and match-winning. He took on the seamers in the first three overs and then dexterity took over when the spinners were introduced.
The reverse sweeps, paddle dinks and touches for singles and doubles were all back. When the pressure started to mount, the big slams over mid-wicket too made an appearance.
Ishan Kishan, his opening partner, too, looks good and if this combination clicks like the way it did against Delhi, Mumbai Indians will be beaming right through the league phase.