IPL 2025: Key reasons behind Mumbai Indians’ remarkable comeback after a poor start — from 1 win in first 5 games to 7 wins in next 8 matches.
It has been the Mumbai Indians’ (MI) trademark to make slow starts and then make an epic comeback to qualify for the play-offs in IPL 2025. The 2025 season ran on similar lines for MI. They started the season losing four matches out of the first five games, and were at the bottom of the points table.
As they always do, they then scripted a memorable comeback to post seven wins out of the next eight games to qualify for the play-offs. The only loss during these eight games was against Gujarat Titans (GT) on the last ball of a rain-interrupted game.
Now, Mumbai can even dream of a top-two finish if they win their last game against the Punjab Kings (PBKS) and other results go in their favour. Regardless, Mumbai have made a terrific comeback and looked to be peaking at the right time. Here are the reasons behind Mumbai’s revival in the ongoing IPL season.
Mumbai Indians batters came to party
After the fifth match, Mumbai batters have done well collectively, with Suryakumar Yadav deserving special mention for his consistency. He is the third highest run-getter in the tournament so far with 583 runs at an average of 72.87 and a strike rate of 170.46 in 13 games.
Be it batting first or chasing, SKY has always raised his hand and done the job for the team. He now holds the joint record of scoring 25-plus runs consecutively in 13 games along with South Africa’s Temba Bavuma.
Moreover, Rohit Sharma was finally able to put his series of low scores behind and make three scores of fifty and more in four matches to give the team a good start along with Ryan Rickleton. The South Africa keeper and opening batter also deserves a special mention for his consistent quick impact innings throughout the season.
Although Tilak Varma was not his usual fluent self, he continued to fight it out to score runs for his team. His twin fifties in the initial phase of the tournament saved some blushes for the team.
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Bowlers hunt in groups for MI
The new-ball bowling has been shared by Trent Boult and Deepak Chahar who have consistently picked up wickets in the powerplay, and pushed the opponents on the backfoot. The two have complemented each other brilliantly. While Boult has swung the ball both ways deceiving the batters with the ball movements, Chahar has been difficult to get away with, thanks to his tight line and length and clever change of pace.
Jasprit Bumrah coming in as one change has given no room for respite to the opposition once the new-ball bowlers – Chahar & Boult – had done their job. Bumrah has complemented Chahar & Boult with his economical spell and wicket-taking ability. Boult stands at the third place with 19 wickets in the season so far. Bumrah is the next best Mumbai bowler with 16 wickets. The three pacers have taken a combined 46 wickets so far.
Spinners are also making merry in Mumbai’s camp. First, it was Karn Shamra who bagged the ‘Man of the Match’ award in his first match of the season, taking 3/36 against Delhi to win a close thriller. Lastly, Mitchell Santner has been one of the best spinners in the tournament so far, with his 3/11 against Delhi showcasing his skills and spin wizardry.
Read More: IPL 2025: MI fielders have taken 51 catches, head & shoulders above the second-best
Hardik Pandya’s captaincy
Hardik Pandya may not have been among the runs or taken wickets in the business end of the tournament. But his captaincy deserves mention for lifting the team from No 9 to a play-off berth. Pandya has managed to make his resources play above potential to win seven matches out of the last eight games. He has been captaining India’s ODI captain Rohit Sharma, India’s T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav, and a host of international stars who enjoy cult status back home.
Bringing these many players together to win matches is no mean task. Credit to Pandya for lifting up the team’s morale after the poor start. Pandya also needs praise for keeping things simple, managing senior players efficiently, and helping out his teammates whenever needed. The team is responding to Pandya’s call and that bodes well for Mumbai after the horrific time under him last IPL season.
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