IPL 5 – Mumbai Indians – Season Review
Mumbai Indians started the fifth season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) as one of the firm favourites of the tournament because of their victory in last year’s Champions League T20.
In the previous edition of the cash-rich tournament, Mumbai finished at number three on the points table after the league matches and same was the case this year, as the Indians accumulated 20 points after 16 matches to finish behind http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Delhi-c780 Daredevils and
Kolkata Knight Riders.
Mumbai faced a setback before the start of the current season when the batting-maestro, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Harbhajan-Singh-c61453, whose temperament is often questioned, was given
the responsibility to lead the side. It is one of the major reasons why Mumbai’s attitude in the field was often over-aggressive, which is a shame, as cricket is known as a ‘gentlemen’s game’.
The Indians have had a mixed sort of a campaign this year as they struggled to find the right combination of foreign and local players. On top of that, the franchise faced injury troubles as Lasith Malinga, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/KA-Pollard-c1754 and Tendulkar missed some matches
because of fitness issues.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746, could not represent Mumbai in the fifth season, which was another blow for them, as their bowling struggled throughout the tournament to curtail oppositions.
Johnson was replaced by the West Indian all-rounder, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/DR-Smith-c1401, who proved to be a priceless player for the franchise and won a couple of matches on his own for Mumbai.
Harbhajan’s men did not find it very hard to make it to the last four of the tournament, although they were a touch inconsistent in the league stage. However, they found a fierce competitor in shape of Chennai Super Kings in the play-offs and were eliminated
by the defending champions.
Mumbai started well in the all-important fixture and picked up two cheap wickets before http://www.senore.com/Cricket/DJ-Bravo-c1379 took the game away from the Indians.
Harbhajan confessed that his side was totally outplayed by Dhoni’s men and said, “I am disappointed that we lost, but we cannot change the result. The Super Kings played like champions and deserved to win.”
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/SL-Malinga-c2540 led the bowling attack of the Indians once again and grabbed 22 scalps in 14 matches and finished at number three on the top wicket-takers list. However, Sri Lanka’s spearhead failed to halt Chennai’s progress in the play-off fixture, when
his team needed him the most.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/RG-Sharma-c2309, the Indian international, played the best innings of his life when he smashed a stunning century against Kolkata Knight Riders at the Eden Gardens. Sharma is a true match-winner but even he failed to pile up consistent runs on the board.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Mumbai-c820 on a number of occasions.
Ironically, the defending champions of Champions League T20 will have to play the qualifiers in the upcoming tournament. Mumbai did better than most teams this year but one expects some changes in the next season as some of the foreign players failed to
impress.
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