IPL 8: Can Mumbai Indians make a comeback after losing their first two games?

Mumbai Indians know they can come back from worse starts in the IPL than losing their first two games. Last season, they lost their first five before roaring back to win 7 of their last 9 group games to make the playoffs. They will also know that they can’t count on lightning striking twice. Mumbai’s misfiring batting has taken most of the blame for their two defeats, with the team appearing to be overly dependent on captain Rohit Sharma. He made 98 not out in the first game but a two-ball duck in the second as Mumbai slumped to 46 for 5 before Harbhajan Singh did his best MS Dhoni impersonation and slammed sixes at will to bring some respectability to the final score. [caption id=“attachment_2195884” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Mumbai Indians player Harbhajan Singh and Mumbai Indians player Lasith Malinga. Sportzpics[/caption] The bigger culprit though, appears to be the bowling. In just two games, MI have already used 9 different bowlers. There are 12 bowlers in the IPL with an economy rate under 7. MI have none of them. Harbhajan Singh, with an economy rate of 7.25, has been the most miserly. At the other end of the scale, Mumbai have have five bowlers who are conceding over 10 runs an over so far. The opposition have scored runs early and runs late. Virender Sehwag and Murali Vijay jumped on Mumbai early at the Wankhede, with both batsmen feasting on Vinay Kumar, whose first 3 overs went for 35 runs. Kolkata Knight Riders, on the other hand, left it late, and chose to pick on Jaspreet Bumrah, whose third over went for 20 runs thanks to two sixes from Suryakumar Yadav and one from the seemingly implacable Yusuf Pathan. Bumrah was promptly dropped for the second game, as was Pragyan Ojha, whose 2 overs went for 23 runs. The jury is still out on whether Ojha can be as effective as he was before with his revamped action. What is particularly worrying for Mumbai, however, is the form of Lasith Malina. His career average in the IPL is 17.87. It is currently 30.50. His career economy rate is 6.56. It is currently 7.62. Malinga is MI’s strike-bowler. He is the one man in their squad capable of producing a match-turning spell, even in the limited arena that is T20 cricket. But he hasn’t seemed like himself. Perhaps Malinga is still getting back to full fitness after just recovering from injury in time for play for Sri Lanka in the World Cup. Perhaps he is still rusty and needs to bowl his way into form. Whatever the reason, Mumbai need him to find his mojo and find it fast. It isn’t all doom and gloom, of course. Harbhajan Singh produced a terrific spell against KXIP, in which he bowled noticably slower and with with an equally noticable loop. During the innings breaks, Harbhjan said he was trying not to give the batsman any pace to work with it because with their thick big bats, they can just hit the ball straight down the ground, so it is important for a spinner to vary his pace. Left-arm seamer Puwan Suyal also impressed in the second game, though he did not take a wicket. He was able to keep Sehwag and Vijay quiet in the early going and it might behoove Mumbai to let him and Malinga share the new ball. Two games are a small sample size, of course. But games in the IPL fly past quickly and if MI want to go deep into this year’s tournament, they need to get a fix on their bowling as soon as possible. Today’s game against the Rajasthan Royals would be a great place to start.