In Defiance of All Odds: The Mumbai Indians Story

Despite being the most decorated T20 franchise of all time, they were devoid of a successful title defense. Never had they successfully chased a target in a final. Never had a team chased down a sub-160 target in an IPL final. Never did an IPL team have 2 uncapped Indian batsmen scoring almost 1000 runs in a season between them. Mumbai Indians, in defiance of all odds, in a quest to an unprecedented 5th IPL crown, have drafted a blueprint of T20 success.

 

Jerry Krause infamously once said, “Players and coaches don't win championships; organizations win championships”. This came from a manager of arguably one of the most dominant dynasties in NBA history, Chicago bulls, who completed a double three-peat between 1990 and 1998 under Krause. Although this didn’t particularly go well with the centerpiece of their success-Michael Jordan, Mumbai Indians certainly have taken a feather out of Krause’s book of management.

 

IPL arrived in 2008. India was still finding its feet in this journey into the unknown. The glare and the flare of leagues, was still a path undiscovered. Mumbai Indians, acquired by India’s biggest conglomerate, Reliance Industries, became the most expensive franchise sold at almost $112 million. They had some of the biggest names in the T20 circuit at that time, starting from Sanath Jayasuriya, Dwayne Bravo, JP Duminy, Luke Ronchi, going all the way down to Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, and Lasith Malinga. But much like their reputation, they started slowly. Very similar to sporting folklores, the start of their dynasty was gloomy. They could never devise a formula for T20 success in the initial couple of seasons of the IPL.

 

The 2010 season was in many ways, the redemption of the club alongside the arrival of one of the finest hitters in the IPL, Kieron Pollard. Mumbai Indians roped him in for an undisclosed amount(more than $750,000). Justifying his auction value, he was one of the prominent characters in their 2010 campaign which saw them top the points table, win the semifinals convincingly, just to trip before the last hurdle, the final. This wasn’t the disheartening end of a dream-run but more of a curtain-raiser for better things to follow. After all, this remained the only final they have lost in the decade. So what changed?

 

The dream run of 2010 saw Mumbai Indians establish a “Youth first” policy. A scouting network was established under John Wright, also the former coach of the Indian cricket team. The network primarily included the most sought-after coaches from all over India. Former India internationals Pravin Amre, Abey Kuruvilla, Kiran More were a part of this network. The motive of this network was to recognize sparkling talents away from the razzmatazz of international cricket.

 

One of the peculiarities of an IPL side is that you can have a maximum of 4 overseas players in your playing XI. What they identified and most of the other franchises didn’t is the fact that they can optimize the batting depth available in India and use the available overseas slots to fit in fast bowlers and power-hitters, a crucial part of any t20 team. This made them get their Indian batting picks cheaply and spend big on marquee players like Rohit Sharma, Mitchell Johnson, Glenn Maxwell, Corey Anderson.

 

India has always had a consistent production of steady batting and guileful spinners. So why waste the coveted overseas slot on something which is found in abundance in the country? This theory saw them spot the likes of Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Shreyas Gopal, Mayank Markande, and Rahul Chahar - 4 of whom went on to play for India. Shreyas Gopal is the premier spinner for 3 seasons at the Rajasthan Royals. Rahul Chahar is an integral part of the Mumbai setup now, accounting for 15 wickets in the 2020 season.

 

The 2013 season was a season of calamities. Ahead of the season, John Wright spotted an awkward pacer whose bouncer beat the batsmen and the wicketkeeper, Parthiv Patel, during a zonal t20 tournament. Little did anyone know, this bowler would become the alchemist of pace bowling in the next couple of years. Jasprit Bumrah, a raw lanky pacer was given a debut in the first match of Mumbai’s triumphant campaign in 2013. And boy, does he deliver! His first over in IPL, bowling to Virat Kohli (who I don’t think needs an introduction right now), and traps him LBW. Picks 2 more wickets in the game and pioneers a bowling effort which saw Mumbai restrict Bangalore to a decent 156 despite Gayle’s swashbuckling 92 not out. Mumbai lost the game by the smallest of margins but gained a superstar.

 

Another calamity that struck during the season was Ricky Ponting stepping down from captaincy and asking Rohit Sharma to take over the duties. One of the most decorated captains of international cricket asking a local Mumbai lad to take over could be seen as a desperate decision of a team in terrible turmoil. But not in anyone’s wildest dreams would Rohit lift the cup 5 times in the next 8 seasons including the 2013 CLT20.

 

In Rohit Sharma, they found a Mumbaikar lost in the blitzkrieg of the league. Much like they were till 2010. Pravin Amre recollects watching Rohit in the pre-season camp for the 2013 IPL.

 

"I was meeting him after five years, He has changed so much! He looks a lot more calm, relaxed, and confident about his game," Amre says. "He understands his game better than he ever has."

 

Peculiar to note that the vital cogs of the current Indian teams broke through in the same season. 

 

Following a fairytale year in 2013 which saw the departure of Sachin Tendulkar, the IPL campaign in 2014 earned them an infamous tag of “slow starters”. They lost all of their initial 5 games but still managed to qualify for the playoffs dramatically owing to an extraordinary heist on a Sunday night at Wankhede Stadium. They had to win their last league game against Rajasthan with a substantial margin to pip them on NRR to qualify for the playoffs.

 

Rajasthan posted a mammoth total of 190 which Mumbai had to chase in 14.3 overs. As always, everyone ruled them off. Wankhede Stadium witnessed one of the prominent folklores of the IPL. Corey Anderson, a big buy at the auction was a blow hot-blow cold player in the 2014 season for MI. Cometh the hour, he powered his way to a devastating 95 off 36 balls. But the deed wasn’t over. Mumbai needed 2 off 1 ball to qualify and Rayudu infamously did a Klusener and failed to complete the second run. But a ray of hope lit up when the screens flashed that MI would still qualify if they scored a boundary off the next ball. But in came Aditya Tare, a wicketkeeper not very known for his power hitting. By now, you might have understood. Never rule ‘em out. He pulled a James Faulkner full toss for a six and the entire Wankhede erupted to a running Tare showing off his blue-and-gold jersey. This heist made one of the coolest guys on the cricket field and the then coach of Rajasthan Rahul Dravid, throw his cap down in frustration. They lost the playoffs to their rivals, Chennai but the statement was already made.

 

They started similarly in 2015. Only a single win in 6 games. Everyone, who termed their 2014 campaign as a one-off, was shown hiding as they went on to win 9 games of the next 10 and eventually lifted the title beating their rivals, Chennai thrice in the process. The first of those wins saw the arrival of one of the masters of modern hitting. Once again, a John Wright scouting brilliance. Chasing a decent 150-odd total, Mumbai faltered which left them requiring 30 off the last two overs with no experienced batsmen remaining. A loss here might leave their campaign in jeopardy. Rohit Sharma gets out and while walking towards the dugout, he points towards a tall, lanky Baroda boy Hardik Pandya to come out instead of a regular pinch hitter in Harbhajan Singh. He came in, Pelted 25 off the penultimate over, and brought the equation down to just 5 in the last over. This was the arrival of the man who would become the pioneer of many such heists in the subsequent campaigns.

 

The triumphant campaign was followed by a disappointment again in 2016 and the legend of “Odd years” started to build. The remark was stamped after another odd-year title win in 2017. They became the first team to win the IPL thrice pipping their traditional rivals and two-time champions, Chennai. The 2017 season also saw the departure of an aging Ambati Rayudu and the arrival of two middle-order batsmen who went on to redefine the outlook of uncapped players in the tournament. Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan, who represented Kolkata Knight Riders and Gujarat Lions respectively were roped in by the Mumbai Indians.

 

Cut to 2020, Suryakumar is the highest uncapped run-scorer in the IPL. Ishan Kishan was the highest run-scorer for MI in the 2020 season, the first instance of 2 uncapped players scoring 400+ runs in a single season for a franchise. A season where Mumbai had 3 batsmen in their top 4 aggregating almost 1500 runs between them and none of the batsmen was named “Rohit Sharma”. Despite their captain and a white-ball giant scoring a meager 332 runs in the season, they went on to lift the title without a hassle.

 

T20 sides tend to fill up their batting order with hitters and fail to find the balance between bowling and batting due to lack of all-rounders. In their acquisition of Pollard and the famed Pandya brothers, Mumbai ensured they will take the field with 7 bowlers and 7 batsmen each time because all of them are power hitters and can give crucial overs at any point in the game. Also ensuring that only one overseas slot is taken up by a power hitter in Pollard and the rest of the 3 slots can be used by an aggressive opener and the pace bowlers. One of the pace bowlers was always Malinga, whose stocks diminished in the recent seasons. So, Mumbai acquired the almighty Trent Boult from Delhi Capitals. Delhi Capitals almost gifted Trent Boult to MI ahead of the 2020 IPL auction so he could demolish them in the 2020 season.

 

Boult picked up wickets in the first over of the innings 8 times in 15 matches, 4 of those instances coming against his former club, Delhi Capitals. He accounted for 25 wickets in 15 games and partnered Bumrah to form one of the most lethal bowling attacks in IPL history.

 

Very unlike the previous seasons where Mumbai fought, huffed, and puffed their way into the finals and won the trophy, the 2020 season saw them operating like a machine. A machine designed to thrash oppositions out. A season that saw them lose Hardik’s bowling due to injury and Rohit missing out on a few games due to a hamstring issue, was still the most dominant season for an IPL franchise by miles. This speaks volumes of the efforts put in by John Wright, Mahela Jayawardene, Ricky Ponting, Zaheer Khan, and even the most minute cogs of the franchise.

 

The think-tank being so sublime, made them use just 15 players throughout the tournament. Also, a record for the lowest number of players used by a team that went on to win the IPL. 2 of those changes was just to give their premier bowler(Trent Boult) and an ailing Hardik Pandya, a breather before the playoffs. You would expect such a team to go into the final without making any changes. But of course, they are Mumbai Indians. No one would have expected them to drop their premier leg-spinner Rahul Chahar for an off-spinner Jayant Yadav who hadn’t picked up a wicket in the 2 matches he played. But the result? He accounts for Shikhar Dhawan, Delhi’s highest scorer in the season, on the first ball he bowls to him and leaves Delhi toiling at 22/3 in their first final appearance. A similar punt accounted for Suresh Raina in the 2019 qualifier between Mumbai Indians and Chennai which left CSK tottering at 12/2.

 

So, why do so many success stories converge at one point, Mumbai Indians? How has a team devoid of an IPL crown and in potential turmoil lift 5 trophies in 8 seasons? How do they have so many people turning up on different occasions to give them an upper hand over the opponent? How has a team defied all the odds, answered every question raised by the critics? The answer is very simple but very tough to implement.

 

The culture of “One family” that exists in the famed franchise has seen them lift themselves from the lows and similarly ride the highs. Much of it was very evident in this season. Virat Kohli, the RCB skipper trying to get under the nerves of SKY and he responds in the best of ways as he leaves the talking to the bat itself. In the end, when he sees the team through in a tense chase, does the famed “Main hoon na” gesture towards the MI dugout. During the chase in the final when a mistake by Rohit meant SKY had to sacrifice his wicket, he just tucks his bat below his shoulder and walks off gracefully. Rohit in the post-match interview, says “I should have sacrificed my wicket given the form SKY was in”. That’s the culture that allows even the smallest of buds to bloom beautifully.

 

There are no words enough to praise a club that has redefined the epitome of cricketing greatness. Very true to the words of the legend in Jerry Krause, a Rohit or a Bumrah didn’t win the trophies, but Mumbai Indians as an organization did. An organization that is setting examples for others to follow. An organization that has made every individual, be it a fan or not, sit up and take notice of their brilliance in management.

 

Yes, there will be a moment when teams might out-do them at their principles and I hope so, too. But there is no doubt that Mumbai Indians as a franchise, would go down as the pioneer of T20 club cricket.