MI - IPL 2021 in UAE Team Preview

Mumbai Indians are the defending champions and the most successful IPL team with five trophies. If they win the championship this year as well, it will be their hat-trick. Save to say they are one of favorites for the IPL 2021 trophy according to the India betting sites. The credit for the success of the Reliance Industries owned franchise goes to the skipper Rohit Sharma, iconic players and leaders like Sachin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting, Lasith Malinga, Kieron Pollard and Jasprit Bumrah.

History of Mumbai Indians

Mumbai Indians was founded in 2008 as Indian’s biggest conglomerate, Reliance Industries bought the franchise for a whopping price of USD 111.9 million, making it the most expensive franchise then. MI began with Sachin Tendulkar as the icon player and the captain in the inaugural IPL season, and later Harbhajan Singh and Shaun Pollock led the side. With 7 wins and 7 losses, they finished fifth. In 2009, IPL was organized in South Africa where MI had a poor show due to inconsistent performances and finished seventh. In 2010, we saw a rejuvenated MI thanks to outstanding performances by Tendulkar, Malinga, Harbhajan and Pollard. They topped the group stage and reached the final, where they lost to CSK.

In 2013, Rohit Sharma took over the captaincy from Rick Ponting, which was the turning point for both MI and Rohit Sharma. After finishing third and fourth in 2011 and 2012, Mumbai Indians grabbed their first trophy in 2013, defeating CSK in the final by 23 runs. They win their next four trophies in 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2020. The final of the 2019 season turned into the most thrilling one, as MI defeated CSK by a mere 1 run and become the most successful franchise overtaking CSK. In IPL 2020, MI secured a comfortable win against Delhi Capitals in the final and retained the IPL title, their fifth one.

Lasith Malinga is their most successful bowler, with 170 wickets for MI, while Rohit Sharma leads the most-runs chart with 5480 runs in 207 IPL games.

IPL 2021 Auction

Ahead of the auctions, Mumbai Indians released 7 players and entered into the auction with a budget of INR 15.35 crore (USD 2.1 million). They got Adam Milne for INR 3.20 crore (USD 441k) and spent INR 5 crores (USD 690k) to get back Nathan Coulter-Nile whom they had released along with six other players ahead of the auctions. MI also bought leg-spinner, Piyush Chawla, for INR 2.4 crores (USD 331k) and James Neesham for his base price of INR 50 lakhs.

Mumbai Indians also bought Marco Jenson and Yudhvir Singh Charak for their base prices of INR 20 Lakhs. It wasn’t a surprise when they bought Arjun Tendulkar for his base price, given the association of his legendary father Sachin Tendulkar with the franchise.

Players out: Lasith Malinga, Nathan Coulter-Nile, James Pattinson, Sherfane Rutherford, Prince Balwant Rai, Digvijay Deshmukh, Mitchell McCleneghan.

Players in: Nathan Coulter-Nile, Adam Milne, James Neesham, Piyush Chawla, Yudhvir Singh, Marco Jansen, Arjun Tendulkar.

Key Players for Mumbai Indians

Mumbai Indians have some of the finest performers and match winners across all the IPL teams. Let’s look at their key players and their performances.

Rohit Sharma:

The Hitman Sharma has been the backbone for Mumbai Indians for years. His overall experience at the international level and recent form make are by his side. He has scored 5480 runs with 40 half-centuries and 1 century from 207 IPL matches. No wonder you will see low odds on Rohit Sharma for scoring big in any IPL betting app.

Jaspreet Bumrah: He started with Mumbai Indians in 2013, and his brilliant performance for MI made way for the international debut. Now, the prime bowler for team India, Bumrah has taken 115 wickets for MI in 99 matches. In the last season, he took 27 wickets at an economy of 6.73.

Surya Kumar Yadav: He came to the rescue of MI on various occasions in the last IPL season, and scored 480 runs at a strike rate of 145.01 including four fifties.

Ishan Kishan: He is the leading run-scorer for MI in IPL 2020 with 516 runs at a strike rate of 145.76, including 4 half-centuries.

Mumbai Indians Squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Quinton de Kock (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Chris Lynn, Saurabh Tiwary, Anmolpreet Singh, Aditya Tare (wk), Kieron Pollard, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Rahul Chahar, Jayant Yadav, Anukul Roy, Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult, Dhawal Kulkarni, Mohsin Khan, Adam Milne, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Piyush Chawla, James Neesham, Yudhvir Charak, Marco Jansen, Arjun Tendulkar

IPL 2021 So far

Mumbai Indians won 4 out of 7 matches during the first half of IPL 2021, and with 8 points they are currently at the fourth position in the points table. They lost to RCB in the first game and later won two back to back games against Kolkata Knight Riders and Sunrisers Hyderabad. Against Delhi Capitals and Punjab Kings, MI lost due to their poor batting display. However, before the IPL was suspended, they again claimed two back to back wins against Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings. Kieron Pollard’s typical innings of 87 runs from just 34 balls powered the side in the successful run-chase of 219 against CSK. Rahul Chahar is the leading wicket-taker so far in the IPL 2021, with 11 wickets from 7 matches, and Rohit Sharma is the top scorer with 250 runs from 7 innings.

Performances of Players bought in IPL Auction 2021

Nathan Coulter-Nile, Adam Milne and James Neesham played just 1 game each in IPL 2021. Nile and Milne remained wicket-less, while Kiwi all-rounder Neesham bowled just two overs for no success. Piyush Chawla, Arjun Tendulkar and Yudhvir Charak are yet to play a game for MI this season. Marco Jansen, the South African seamer who has played two matches for MI, took 2 wickets from his 6 overs.

Expectations for IPL 2021

1. Delhi Capitals: Mumbai Indians won every outing against Delhi Capitals in the last season. This year, MI lost in the first encounter, and they will look to take revenge and jolt the table-toppers.

2. Kolkata Knight Riders: The fourth-ranked Mumbai Indians would want to stay above the cut-off line. They have the best winning percentage against KKR, with 22 wins from the 28 games. MI defeated KKR earlier in this tournament, and another win in favour of MI will not be a surprise.

3. Chennai Super Kings: Their match with CSK will be one of the highlights of the second half of IPL 2021. MI have an upper hand as they defeated CSK earlier this season, and if they win again, their berth in the playoffs round will mostly be secured.

Make sure to check TheTopBookies cricket betting tips for IPL 2021 to place smarter bets.

Conclusion

The defending champions are fourth in the points table right now, but they have all the ingredients to stay in top-four, reach the playoffs, and even make it to the final. One of the hot favourites along with DC, Mumbai Indians have a bright chance to claim the hat-trick of IPL championships and lifting the trophy for the sixth time.