Mumbai Indians have always been regarded as one of the real powerhouses of the Indian Premier League (IPL), and yet they have also been the great under-achievers of that competition.
Indeed, the franchise had won a Champions League title, before they had secured an IPL title.
Almost without fail the Indians would be touted the pre-season favourites, but it wasn’t until 2013, that they finally managed to live up to that billing, when they defeated the most successful team in IPL history, the Chennai Super Kings, in the final of IPL, to finally clinch their first IPL crown.
The Mumbai Indians will therefore, enter this season’s Champions League as a result of their IPL victory.
They were however, in last season’s competition, but struggled woefully in the South African conditions, and failed to win any of their three matches that were completed. They will hope that a return to the more familiar conditions in India, will see an upturn in performance and results.
Their appearance will be full of emotion, which may cloud the team’s efforts on the pitch, as the legendary Sachin Tendulkar will be making his last appearance in mainstream limited-overs cricket.
In IPL 2013, by his own extraordinary standards, he had a poor tournament, but the consolation was, that he was finally a part of an IPL title winning team.
Mumbai’s title road, was not straight forward however, as they had to make the decision to drop their captain, Ricky Ponting, who never found any form with the bat. Rohit Sharma, replacing him ably as skipper, and indeed, finishing as the team’s leading run-scorer.
The biggest blow for the Indians as they go into the Champions League, is the withdrawal of Sri Lankan pace ace, Lasith Malinga, one of T20’s most prized assets, due to personal commitments.