The Mumbai Indians lifted their fifth IPL title as they beat The Delhi Capitals by 5 wickets in the final.

But let’s talk about The Mumbai Indians across all seasons and what makes them the most successful franchise in the tournament.

1. A strong core

The Mumbai Indians have stuck with a select bunch of players for a good amount of time who deliver the goods for them season after season. Those players repay the team in terms of good performance for showing faith in their abilities and backing their talent. A brilliant example is that of Kieron Pollard who has been with the side since 2010, he peaked in the earlier seasons, then saw a dip in his form and look at him now! He won the award for the highest strike-rate by any batsman this season. (191.42) Besides his performance in the field, he forms an important part of the leadership group with all the experience that he carries with himself having played T20 cricket all over the globe.

Image courtesy @IPL

2. Prolific players in all departments

When we try to analyse a team, we usually look at their strengths and weaknesses. But with this MI outfit weaknesses are hard to find and that is why no other team could ever match their standards. A calm captain and a dangerous opener in Rohit, A destructive middle order comprising of the Pandyas, Kishan and Pollard, the deadly duo of Boult and Bumrah and the class of Surya. What more can you ask from a team?

3. Consistency

If there is a word that describes this team it is CONSISTENT. They have been consistent with their team selection, their death bowlers, their openers,the support staff, the respective roles assigned to the players. These factors lead the team to a successful journey. For example, the role of Hardik, who knows that when he goes out to bat he has to lift the tempo and play the handy cameos at a high strike rate or the example of Surya Kumar, who knows that he has to anchor the run chase and bat right till the end because he has been doing it for years now. This provides clarity to the players and when a player knows what they are supposed to do, it lifts a lot of baggage off the player’s minds.

4. Scouting and Identifying talent

We all know that the IPL is a rigorous two month long tournament but the support staff and the scouting team are on the run throughout the year to spot cricketers from the domestic circuit across the country. The team develops the skills of these players and make them a part of the IPL franchise and Mumbai has have done that very well over the years.

Fact : Bumrah was spotted by John Wright in 2013, the former Mumbai Indians coach, in a domestic game when he was in Mumbai to play the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy for Gujarat. Wright included him in the MI squad for that season and today, he is arguably the best bowler across all formats for India.

Image courtesy @mumbaiindians

5. A reliable Captain

Rohit Sharma has captained the Mumbai Indians to five IPL titles now and that statement definitely tells something about his style of leadership. He mentioned in the post-match presentation that he always in-stills confidence in his players and supports them completely which is the greatest quality a captain can possess. This creates a mutual respect between the players and captain where the latter believes in the abilities of a player and the former accepts the responsibility given to him by the management which includes the captain. He has proven to be a great strategist on the field as well. Today, when chahar was replaced by Jayant Yadav in a final because Yadav being a right arm off spinner would be handy against the left handed batsman in their side. The plan worked as Jayant dislodged Dhawan’s stumps early on in his innings. This was just an example from today’s game but there have been innumerable incidents when a bowling/selection change has worked in favour of the hitman.

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