IPL 2012: Mumbai Indians' famed batting a huge disappointment

By Nishad Pai Vaidya

 

The star-studded Mumbai Indians batting line-up has failed to live up to expectations. While Mumbai are third in the points table, the results thus far indicate that they haven’t played to their potential.

The list of the contenders for the Orange Cap in the ongoing IPL has no Mumbai Indian batsmen in the top ten. Their highest run-scorer - Rohit Sharma - occupies the 19^th spot with 233 runs to his name. Ambati Rayudu (208) and James Franklin (205) are placed at the 21^st and the 22^nd spots respectively - clear indication that they haven’t been their dominant selves.

 

The fact that none of them are in the race for the orange cap, more than half-way through the season is a baffling conclusion. The bottomline is that even their best batsmen haven’t been consistent enough, although Rayudu’s average of 41.60 would suggest otherwise.

A look at the stats of the main batsmen of the Mumbai Indians:

 

Player Name	M	Runs	Avg	Strike Rate	50s	Highest
Rohit Sharma	10	233	25.88	120.72	2	73*
Ambati Rayudu	10	208	41.60	126.82	1	62
James Franklin	8	205	34.16	105.12	1	79
Dinesh Karthik	10	140	17.50	112.00	0	40
Sachin Tendulkar	6	128	25.60	104.06	0	34
Kieron Pollard	8	123	17.57	135.16	1	64

 

Most of those stats have been bolstered by brilliant performances – which have been few and far in between. Rohit has three knocks of note – a brilliant 73 not out against Deccan Chargers (the game famous for his match-winning six off the last ball), the aggressive 50 against Kings XI Punjab and the measured 42 against Deccan on a seaming pitch at Mumbai. Apart from these outings, there have been occasions when he has flattered to deceive and thrown his wicket away at crucial junctures.

 

James Franklin’s 79 was a brilliant knock and that was an example of his fantastic ability of mixing caution and aggression to good effect. In other games, he hasn’t delivered similar results, but is a vital part of the Mumbai setup as his calming influence is a huge asset in the T20 format.

Dinesh Karthik’s form has been patchy. There have been moments where he has got off to starts and promised to do something remarkable, but lost his wicket against the run of play.

 

Sachin Tendulkar’s return from injury hasn’t been the happiest and the fluency is missing from his game. He is essaying some amazing strokes to the delight of the crowds, but the strike-rate of 104.06 would suggest that he has to raise his game for the sake of his team. This becomes even more pertinent considering Mumbai’s unsettled opening combination, which would be discussed later in this article.

 

Kieron Pollard’s knock against Rajasthan Royals gave one the impression that he was moving past the inconsistency that plagued his career and getting into a productive phase (on the back of his good performances against Australia in the Caribbean). However, the stats would tell you that he scored half of his runs during that knock and in the other games he hasn’t produced the goods expected of him. That leaves us with Rayudu, who started off slowly, but is gradually taking on the mantle of being the finisher.

Too many close finishes

There have been two occasions during this season where Mumbai batsmen have stolen defeat from the jaws of victory, so to say. Nevertheless, the reason they found themselves in those hopeless situations prior to the heart-stoppers was their own shortcomings with the bat. In their third game, against Deccan, they complicated a relatively easy run chase of 139 and looked down and out until the last over (where Rohit hit the six off the last ball). Against Punjab in Mohali, it looked all over when they needed 32 off 12 and it was only Robin Peterson and Rayudu’s heroics that got them through. Mumbai’s problems during run-chases isn’t something new and has been prevalent since the last season

 

In the game against Pune Warriors at Pune, they put only 120 on the board and won the game by a solitary run. The margin is too close for comfort and a few more runs would have made it more comfortable.

Numerous opening partners

Similar to their 2011 campaign, Mumbai have chopped and changed too many openers. Tendulkar’s injury early in the season and Franklin’s illness before the game against Delhi Daredevils were forced and there was nothing they could do about it. However, they followed a musical chairs pattern for the other games.

 

The opening combinations used by Mumbai in the 2012 season are: Tendulkar-Levi, Levi-Rayudu, Levi-Tirumalasetti Suman, Levi-Davy Jacobs, Tendulkar-Franklin and Tendulkar-Aiden Blizzard. A total of six combinations in 10 games is an inflated number. Clearly, this has caused instability at the top. And Tendulkar’s struggle doesn’t make things better. In fact, when fit he is probably the only certainty to open the batting.

 

What this tells us is that being strong on paper is not enough and it is imperative that the team clicks on the field of play. As one can see, Harbhajan Singh and the team management have a number of problems on their plate and if left unsolved, Mumbai’s season would end in a catastrophic manner. With six league games to go, they need their batsmen to hit peak form for passage to the knock-out.

 

(Nishad Pai Vaidya is a club-level cricketer with an analytic mind and a sharp eye. It was this sharpness which spotted a wrong replay in IPL4 resulting in Sachin Tendulkar’s dismissal. Some of his analytical pieces have come in for high praise from cerebral former cricketers. Nishad can also be followed on Twitter)