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Follow UsMumbai Indians put up yet another batting masterclass, as they steamrolled the Royal Challengers Bangalore at home, chasing 200 with more than 20 balls to spare.
This chase made Mumbai Indians the first team in T20 history to chase in excess of 200 in three consecutive games.
Their bowling might not have been where they would want it to be, but their approach with the bat has been ruthless.
They have been such good chasers that their numbers while batting first seem to be a pale shadow than while going after a target.
If we dig a little deeper, their performance between the first and second innings grows leaps and bounds across phases as well. And they have had players step up in each of these phases to help them reach a competitive total.
In the powerplay, their run rate goes up from 7.4 RPO in the first innings to 9.3 RPO. They also lose wickets less frequently; from 18 balls/dismissal in the first innings to 36 balls/dismissal in the second. A lot of it has to do with Ishan Kishan’s own performance. From an average of 34.5 and a strike rate of 125.5 while setting a target, the corresponding numbers in the second innings go up to 87.5 and 159.1.
If it’s Kishan in the powerplay, it’s Suryakumar Yadav (SKY) bossing the middle overs. While batting in the first innings, MI score at 7.4 RPO and lose a wicket every 20 balls. In the second innings, they score at 10 RPO and lose a wicket every 22.5 balls.
The connection with SKY couldn’t be more apparent; he averages 7.75 and strikes at 110.7 in the first innings and it goes to 61.6 and 212.4 in the second innings. Even in terms of boundary scoring, SKY is well ahead of the rest of the pile. He has scored 51 boundaries between the 7th and 16th over, 22 more than the second-placed Devon Conway.
The fact that we haven’t even gone to the likes of Cameron Green, Tilak Varma, and Tim David goes to show how well-oiled this Mumbai batting unit is.
So strong is their affinity for chasing that, barring Tilak Varma, every batter in the MI top 7 starts off better in the second innings. Even Tilak strikes only marginally (5%) better in the first innings, compared to the second.
This has meant that a fall of a wicket has never really slowed their batting, something teams can’t afford to while chasing big totals.
Also, another reason why they have been a difficult team to bowl to is the lack of any distinct weakness to exploit.
Bowl spin or pace, their batters have been up to the task. If scoring at 8.8 RPO while losing a wicket to every 25 balls of spin wasn’t good enough, they score at 10.5 RPO while losing a wicket to every 20 balls of pace.
I know, there are just too many numbers thrown around. That’s only because there’s no other way we can showcase Mumbai’s domination while chasing.
But, they have lost two games while chasing. Against Gujarat Titans, the table toppers. And the other was against Punjab Kings.
The former was while chasing 208 against, arguably, the best bowling lineup in IPL 2023. In some sense, GT also gave us a template on how to tame the flying beast that is Mumbai Indians.
Take early powerplay wickets, choke them in the middle overs, and kill the game in the final four.
Wow. That seems like something theorized by a 10-year-old cricket watcher. But, that’s exactly how difficult it is to limit them.
This is why, the next best option is to outbat them. It isn’t far-fetched, given Mumbai’s inexperienced bowling attack. Their bowlers have the poorest run rate of all teams. This is thanks to their pacers, who have gone at an other-worldly 10.7 RPO.
With Wankhede set to host two more matches this season, the template is fairly simple. Either opt to chase and make the Mumbai batters set a target, or go after Mumbai's bowlers from the get-go and set an above-par total.
