The Mumbai Indians (MI) have been the best IPL establishment with five prizes to their name, yet it hasn’t forever been going great for the group. There have been times when their most memorable portion of the time was absolutely disheartening.
However, they have established a name for themselves as a team that surprises rivals by gaining momentum toward the end of the tournament. Despite MI’s mixed start to the IPL 2023 season, this is one of the main reasons why they are still in the running for the playoffs.
On Sunday (April 30), the Mumbai Indians prevailed thrillingly over the Rajasthan Royals, chasing down a daunting 213-run target in the final over. Many people think that this could just kick off another season in which they make a comeback in the second half.
In light of this, let’s examine three instances in which MI demonstrated why they are the IPL’s “Comeback Kings.”
3) IPL 2013 – Champions
In 2013, the Mumbai Indians won their first IPL title, but the way there was not easy. The team was loaded with superstars, but Ricky Ponting and Sachin Tendulkar, who decided to start the innings together, were the center of attention. Ponting, on the other hand, had a pretty average start to the season with the bat, so that dream experiment didn’t work.
In their most memorable sixes games, Mumbai won only three and the Aussie extraordinary made the choice to stride down as commander. A young Rohit Sharma was given the job by the management of the Mumbai Indians, and that turned out to be a turning point in their history. That season, Sharma led his team to the championship and won just three games as captain.
Mumbai made a big statement by saying they were willing to make difficult choices for the franchise’s benefit.
2) IPL 2014 – 4th Place
Even though Mumbai Indians did not win the IPL title in 2014, it was still one of their best seasons ever.
During the huge auction in 2014, a lot of big stars left the team, and they had a team that probably had to perform well to qualify. Due to the general elections in India, the tournament’s first leg was held in the UAE, and everyone discounted Mumbai during that phase.
They lost each of the five of their games in the UAE and it seemed like they would complete the season absolute bottom.
However, what followed was arguably the greatest comeback of all time, as they won seven of their remaining nine games to earn a net run rate of.500 or higher and advance to the playoffs. They had to chase 192 runs in 14.3 overs to beat Rajasthan Royals on net run rate, and Mumbai Indians were on the verge of collapse thanks to Corey Anderson’s unbeaten 95 runs.
Aditya Tare then crushed a six off the third bundle of the fifteenth over to guarantee Mumbai qualified for the end of the season games.
After losing their first five games in a row, it remains a feat that has been nearly impossible for others to accomplish.
1) IPL 2015 – Champions
The 2015 edition of the Indian Premier League is arguably the season that established Mumbai Indians as true comeback kings.
MI got off to a bad start once more when they lost their first four games in a row. In their sixth game, they lost to Delhi Daredevils, dropping them to the bottom of the league with just two points.
However, the team as a whole responded by winning seven of their final eight league games. They not only made the playoffs, but they also came in second place, behind the Chennai Super Kings, who were their archrivals.
Mumbai then won a memorable title by defeating CSK twice in the knockout stages.
The franchise truly achieved a remarkable feat with this. Many people didn’t think the Mumbai Indians would even make the playoffs after their first six games. Instead, they went on an incredible run, defeated the best team in the league twice when it mattered most, and won the championship.