What made Mumbai Indians the IPL10 winners?
Mumbai Indians put on a brilliant performance against Rising Pune Supergiant to win the finals of 2017 Indian Premier League by one run in a last over thriller. Finishing on top of the points table, Mumbai's consistent cricket was the talk of the tournament. Let us have a look at the factors that made Mumbai different from other seven teams.
World class top order
Mumbai's Jos Buttler, Nitish Rana and Parthiv Patel consistently gave a perfect start to the innings, be Mumbai batting first or second. The trio scored 1000 runs together for the team in the tournament. Patel was the highest run-scorer for the team, with 395 runs. In the last few group matches, Lendl Simmons joined the party, scoring two crucial half-centuries.
Captain with a class of his own
Mumbai Indians' skipper Rohit Sharma had a poor start to the 2017 IPL. However, even with several single digit scores in the first few matches, Sharma went on to score 333 runs at an average of 23.78. Apart from his batting, his strategies and bold decisions like including Karn Sharma in place of experienced Harbhajan Singh proved crucial in Mumbai's wins.
The all-rounder duo of Mumbai Indians
The duo of Hardik Pandya and Krunal Pandya were the back-bone of Mumbai Indians' middle order batting. Pandya brothers played several match winning innings and went on to score 493-runs and picked up 16 wickets. Krunal Pandya's 47-run innings in the finals helped Mumbai to post a defendable score of 129, earning him the Man of the Match award.
Kieron Pollard - One man army?
Kieron Pollard stood tall in Mumbai Indians' batting order as well as on the boundary line. Apart from scoring 385 runs at an average of 29.61, Pollard took 15 catches, the most by any fielder.
Bumrah, Malinga, McClenaghan and Johnson
Mumbai Indians' bowling department was another factor which made this team stand out. The trio of Jaspreet Bumrah, Lasith Malinga and Mitchell McClenaghan picked up 50 wickets for Mumbai, showing some exceptional skills in the death overs. Mitchell Johnson's two wickets in the last over of the finals led Mumbai to win the IPL trophy for the record third time.
The backbone of Mumbai Indians
The richest team of IPL, Mumbai Indians is known to have a star studded backroom staff to guide the players. With the new coach Mahela Jayawardene joining Jonty Rhodes, Shane Bond and Robin Singh, they helped in planning the right strategy against the opposition. Their guidance was visible in every aspect of the game. Probably, this think-thank is what made Mumbai different!
