Twelve years ago, Mumbai Indians endured an ugly start\u2014losing their first five games and sitting in the lower half of the standings\u2014before finding their rhythm and qualifying for the playoffs. A similar pattern played out last season as well: four defeats in the opening five fixtures eventually gave way to a late surge. Their most dramatic turnaround, though, belongs to 2015, when they dropped five of their first six matches before going on to win the title.<\/p>\n
This season, the script began uncomfortably familiar. Mumbai have already lost four of their first five matches, and while the early results have been troubling, the situation has not carried the same \u201csame old story\u201d feel. The defeats haven\u2019t simply been dismissed as the franchise\u2019s usual slow-starter reputation\u2014because there were signs of the right ingredients, yet they never quite came together. Even Hardik Pandya\u2019s leadership has been under the spotlight as Mumbai searched for answers across departments.<\/p>\n
That narrative began to shift after Monday\u2019s match in Ahmedabad, where Mumbai Indians produced a 99-run rout of the Gujarat Titans. For the first time this campaign, the side looked like the IPL powerhouse they are widely associated with.<\/p>\n
Hardik\u2019s mood was unmistakably upbeat\u2014euphoric, animated, and visibly relieved\u2014because the captaincy had delivered a clear change in approach. Rather than forcing the hunt for early wickets through himself, he entrusted the new ball to Jasprit Bumrah, and the India fast bowler responded immediately.<\/p>\n
Bumrah\u2019s first breakthrough of the season arrived with the very first delivery of Gujarat\u2019s chase. He dismissed Sai Sudharsan, ending a seven-match wicket drought in IPL action for the pacer, and the impact of that moment was felt instantly\u2014Mumbai looked calmer, more confident, and more in control.<\/p>\n
Mumbai didn\u2019t rely on one decision; they made several tough calls that paid off on the day. Their adjustment to the bowling plan helped tighten the middle overs and deny Gujarat the kind of momentum that can flip a chase.<\/p>\n
That near-flawless bowling display\u2014delivered at Motera\u2014pulled Mumbai back into contention in the most tangible way. The victory moved them from the bottom of the table to seventh place, reviving talk of a potential playoff push.<\/p>\n
The tone of the day was summed up in a quick moment during the presentation. The presenter asked, \u201cIs this that game?\u201d Hardik replied, \u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Still, the question remains open: it might not be the full turnaround yet\u2014at least not entirely\u2014but the direction is unmistakably better than what Mumbai had shown earlier.<\/p>\n
Beating Gujarat with authority confirmed Mumbai have addressed their bowling problems. Yet the batting conversation is not finished. Even in a match like this, the broader issues in their batting structure are difficult to ignore.<\/p>\n
The powerplay continues to be a concern, with Mumbai losing three wickets within the first six overs. Without Naman Dhir\u2019s stabilising half-century, the chase would have looked far more precarious even after Gujarat were set up for an under-pressure chase.<\/p>\n
Suryakumar Yadav remains a worry, with his form having dipped over the past year. At the same time, Tilak Varma provided a reminder of what Mumbai can unlock when their innings accelerates\u2014he struck a late surge, scoring 82 runs in the final six overs to reach his maiden IPL century. However, his early battle against spin was less convincing: he managed only 19 runs from his first 22 balls.<\/p>\n
With the win offering hope, Mumbai now need to turn that momentum into repeatable batting plans. The ideas being discussed include:<\/p>\n
Mumbai will take the confidence from Monday\u2019s performance, but the message going forward is clear: the bowling revival has arrived, yet the batting still requires fixing if this season\u2019s turnaround is to become something more than a one-off.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Twelve years ago, Mumbai Indians endured an ugly start\u2014losing their first five games and sitting in the lower half of the standings\u2014before finding their rhythm…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":4226,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_title":"Mumbai Indians IPL 2024: Bowling clicks, batting woes","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"Mumbai Indians\u2019 IPL 2024 turnaround echoes 2015: bowling finds form, late surge sparks hope, but batting woes still linger for MI.","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4227","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ipl"],"yoast_head":"\n