Mumbai Indians snatched a game from right under Gujarat Titans' noses to notch up their second win in the season. Table-toppers Gujarat Titans have now lost back to back matches with Lucknow Super Giants in with a chance to go level on points with them after their next game. In a thriller that went on till the final over, we raise a few burning questions to dissect the match.
Why Mumbai need more of these starts than the big scores from Rohit Sharma
Rohit Sharma got off to a flier on Friday night, smashing two fours and a six off Alzarri Joseph in the second over and a further six in the third over off Mohammed Shami. In his elements right from the word go, the Mumbai Indians skipper was the aggressor-in-chief in the powerplay, scoring 42 in 24 balls. This was in contrast to his usual template of settling down before going big, and it's possibly something Mumbai Indians need more often from Rohit, especially with Ishan Kishan still not in great touch.
Since the start of 2019, Rohit has a strike-rate of just under 130 inside the first six overs, which is neither here nor there. But the 42 he made last night was the most number of runs Rohit has scored in the powerplay in his IPL career. What's notable is that he has been breaching the 30-run mark in the powerplay more often than before since 2021. 9 of the 12 occurrences of him scoring more than 30 runs in the powerplay happened since 2019. Even if Rohit isn't making those big scores, him starting in the fashion he did last night will help Mumbai.
Why Tim David has shown what Mumbai missed in the death overs earlier
Tim David's return to the Mumbai Indians line-up has given them a solid guy down the order to do the finishing job, something that had gone missing with Kieron Pollard misfiring and the Pandya brothers no longer at the franchise. David's intent and confidence in the death overs makes him a one-of-a-kind in the role, and he has adapted to the league already as the last two knocks prove.
Although he is yet to play too many games in the IPL, David's dominance in every other league he has played and his effective knocks in the last two matches prove that Mumbai have a long-term prospect in their hands, one they failed to utilise earlier in the season.
Finishing is an area where MI have dominated in the league in the past. Since 2019, no team has a better strike-rate in the death overs than Mumbai. To recapture that kind of glory, though, Mumbai will need bankable players in the role and, in David they have that one huge presence to take over from Pollard.
Why Mumbai Indians should continue to back Bumrah the powerplay bowler
Jasprit Bumrah had yet another off day in IPL 2022, going for 48 runs in four overs with 26 of those coming in the powerplay overs. The attack leader was taken on by Wriddhiman Saha, who has been exceptional in the powerplay overs. These off days are becoming more common with Bumrah this year. He has gone at over nine runs per over 10 times in the IPL since 2021. While that's common for bowlers who bowl more often in the death, with Bumrah it's uncommon.
With the rest of the attack not up to the mark, Mumbai not using Bumrah upfront only further pegs back their effectiveness with the new ball. They have used him for just one over in the first six five times this season when two upfront would have given Mumbai a better chance at making early inroads. Since 2020, Bumrah has an economy rate of 6.62 in the powerplay overs, taking 12 wickets at an average of 28.67. Among quicks to bowl in the powerplay for more than 30 overs in this period, that's the third-best economy rate and the fifth-best average.
With a lot of teams top heavy, using two overs of Bumrah upfront like last night would give Mumbai the best chance in terms of wicket-taking. It might not have gone to plan against Gujarat, but it was the right ploy and should be persisted with.
Why Wriddhiman Saha - Shubman Gill form an underrated, yet compelling opening combination
Wriddhiman Saha and Shubman Gill are, on paper, a rather unexciting pair at the top of the order in a T20 game. While Gill's intent, or the lack of it, makes him a less enticing player to open the batting, Saha isn't close to being seen as an aggressor in this format. However, the two forged a rather effective opening stand last night for Gujarat Titans, and if you dig in deeper, it's cleared why the two function better as a pair than you would imagine.
Since 2020, Saha's strike-rate in the powerplay is 134.08, the fourth-best by an Indian batter in this phase. What hurts him, though, is that the strike-rate goes down to 113.4 in the middle overs where he is way less effective. Gill, on the other hand, operates at a strike-rate of 122 in the powerplay since 2020, which itself is an improvement down to his better intent this year. But, in the middle overs this year Gill had operated at a strike-rate of 170.6, making him a compelling option to have if gets through the early overs. For that to happen without too much damage to the team's cause, Gujarat need Saha, the powerplay aggressor. This makes for an exciting pair that can turn on games with the bat for Gujarat Titans and they have shown that a few times now with last night being the standout example.
How Mumbai Indians dragged the game back in the middle
With the Saha-Gill combination wreaking havoc early on, Gujarat had gotten off to a great start in their run chase of 178. Mumbai had to break that opening partnership and they pulled off a smart move which eventually proved to be crucial to their win.
To keep Gill and Saha silent through the middle overs, Rohit went to an enforcer in Riley Meredith and the cheeky medium pace of Kieron Pollard. Gill's intent against spin in the middle overs - he strikes at 177 against spin in this phase this year - and Saha's dot ball percentage against pace - which is over 30% since 2020 - meant that using pace to slow down the pace was a move backed by numbers.
With Meredith and Pollard going for just 11 runs in two overs after a good over from Murugan Ashwin, the pressure was on Gujarat to press on the accelerator. By teasing the pair with spin again, Mumbai sent an open invitation to try and take Ashwin on, and the ploy worked with two wickets falling in the over, both to premeditated, aggressive shots.
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