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it was now playing like a different team too. statistics can’t ever explain the exclamation on
The first match of season 2 had them drawing the faces of the bowlers.
swords against the fancied former finalists
Chennai Super Kings. The Mumbai Indians though needed a lot more
starts like that. Starts that would help them bat
Jayasuriya inflicted early damage, with Sachin the opposition out of the game. Invariably they
getting a half century. Duminy and Bravo failed would lose that first wicket early on and leave
in this game but young Abhishek Nayar put his a building job in the hands of young JP Duminy.
hand up and hit many a ball over the boundary. But JP, though proved that he was not only
His quick fire knock meant not only a fighting willing and able, but was also game for any such
total, but also a stronger middle order. The tasks. Evident from the fact that, Duminy was
Mumbai Indians had started their tournament the highest run getter in the tournament for
with what had been deemed an upset. But that the Mumbai Indians. He also chipped in with the
was far from the truth. Chennai may have been ball, justifying every cent of the almost million
runners up, but the Mumbai team was evenly dollars he was taking home.
matched, and with the two legends up the order,
some might have even said that Mumbai were Their bowling needed that push, especially
the favorites. It was a star-studded team indeed. after they lost strike bowler Zaheer Khan to a
shoulder injury. Fast bowlers hunt in pairs, but
It was impossible to believe that this star- it didn’t seem to make a difference to Lasith
studded team won only 3 of their first 10 games. Malinga, as he was yorking his way toward the
Discounting a rain-abandoned tie still meant purple cap, coming very close in the end.
that their win loss ratio was quite skewed!
But one or two players can never win you the
They did manage to up their game at the tail end tournament, neither can just five. It has to be the
of the tournament, and even had a chance to entire team, and that proved to be the biggest
sneak into the semi finals. But it was too little too undoing of the Mumbai Indians in SA. They
late. The entire campaign though was not just just never seemed to come up with the correct
about coming up short. Much had been expected combination, the balance was just not right.
from the explosive opening partnership. From
the their fans and from cricket lovers all over But these are early days. Just two seasons down
the world. But the champs just could not seem and many more to come. Mr. Ambani would be
to get their game going at the same time, except the first to tell you that just as you cannot build
for that one evening in Port Elizabeth. One of a business in a short time, you cannot forge a
the finest opening partnerships you will ever be crack team overnight. But with the blue chip
privileged to see. 127 runs scored at 10 runs an players he has on his rolls, we would be best
over! The exclamation mark on the end of those advised not to give up on their stock just yet!
222 MUMBAI INDIANS MUMBAI INDIANS 223
sachin tendulkar
