Mumbai, March 30 (PTI) – The Mumbai Indians will be hoping for a speedy turnaround after their Indian Premier League debut against the reigning champions, the Kolkata Knight Riders, at their home venue on Monday.
The Mumbai Indians, who have now lost two games to the Chennai Super Kings and Gujarat Titans, have a history of losing to start an IPL season.
Persistent slow starters in the event are renowned for pulling themselves together to take home the trophy. However, MI will require improved bowler performance and batter consistency to get back on track, particularly in the absence of specialized finishers lower in the order.
In his maiden IPL tournament, big-hitting Ryan Rickelton has yet to establish a rhythm on Indian wickets, while Rohit Sharma has been batting hot and cold.
The South African batter has not been able to score, despite showing flashes of his ability. In contrast, Rohit has experienced two single-digit scores, including a duck.
With his 48 against GT, Suryakumar Yadav appeared to be regaining his form, but the knock was not the one where the Indian T20I captain thrived as he usually does.
The Mumbai Indians have been always searching for the ideal combination due to their squad’s frequent chopping and switching, but they now lack a specialized finisher who can effectively use the long handle, like Tim David in former years.
As a result, Tilak Varma and Suryakumar continue to be MI’s finest batsmen, and the two T20I experts’ strong IPL debut will be one of the things MI looks to improve upon.
In front of a crowd that was enraged against him when he took over MI’s charge from Rohit last year, captain Hardik Pandya will return to the Wankhede Stadium with renewed energy following a run of personal triumphs.
Because Deepak Chahar will have to split responsibility for the pace attack with the seasoned New Zealand bowler, Jasprit Bumrah’s absence would prevent the Mumbai Indians from launching their preferred new ball attack, which includes left-armers Trent Boult and Reece Topley.
