Key takeaways from Mumbai Indians's rollercoaster IPL 2023 campaign
Mumbai Indians's rollercoaster campaign in the 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL) has finally come to an end. The five-time champions bowed out of the competition following a 62-run defeat versus Gujarat Titans in Qualifier 2. Notably, MI started off poorly but peaked just at the right time to finish in the top four. Here we look at the key takeaways from their campaign.
A fourth-place finish for MI
With eight wins in 14 games, MI finished the league stage at the fourth place. As mentioned, Rohit Sharma's men made a poor start to the season, clinching just three of their first seven games. However, they crossed the line five times in their following seven outings. MI then defeated Lucknow Super Giants in the Eliminator before losing to GT.
A poor season for Rohit Sharma
Rohit was far away from his best as his failure at the top often put the pressure on the middle order. He could only manage 332 runs in 16 games at a strike rate of 132.80 (50s: 2). 11 of his 16 dismissals this season were recorded in the powerplay overs. The MI skipper could only manage a seven-ball eight in the second Qualifier.
SKY's dream run
Suryakumar Yadav unleashed his A-game after a poor start to the season. He finished the competition with 605 runs at a brilliant average of 46.54 (50s: 5, 100: 1). His strike rate of 181.14 is the second-best among batters with at least 150 runs this season. Notably, Sachin Tendulkar (618 in 2010) is the only other MI batter with 600-plus runs in a season.
Other batting stars for MI
MI's destructive batting line-up earned them immense success this season. Besides SKY, Ishan Kishan and MI's 17.5-crore recruit Cameron Green scored 454 and 452 runs respectively, both striking at 140-plus. Meanwhile, youngsters Tilak Varma and Nehal Wadhera garnered 343 and 241 runs, respectively. They struck at 164.11 and 145.18, respectively. Though Tim David could only manage 231 runs, his strike rate was 158.21.
Highest run rate in the season
As MI had six batters with 200-plus runs and a 140-plus strike rate, many bowling line-ups struggled against them. MI's average run rate of 9.53 is the highest among all teams this season. Four of the eight successful run chases of 200 or more this season belong to MI. They also boast the highest successful run chase in IPL 2023 (215 vs Punjab Kings).
MI's dented pace attack
As if Jasprit Bumrah's absence was not enough, Jofra Archer got ruled out midway through the season. Injuries to these two premier pacers largely dented MI's pace attack. However, Jason Behrendorff and Akash Madhwal embraced the challenge, scalping 14 wickets apiece. Madhwal, in fact, claimed a brilliant fifer (5/5) in Qualifier 1. Eight of Behrendorff's wickets came in the powerplay overs.
Piyush Chawla's rise propelled MI
Piyush Chawla's resurgence was instrumental to MI's brilliant run this season. While he took 22 wickets, his tally of 20 wickets in overs between seven and 15 is the highest for any bowler this season. No other MI bowler could claim even 15 wickets. His economy rate of 8.11 was the best among MI bowlers who delivered at least five overs.
Struggles in death overs
MI bowlers had a hard time in death overs this season as their average economy rate of 11.79 in this phase is the worst among all sides this season. The Titans clobbered 67 runs in this phase in the second Qualifier.
