IPL 2025: How Mumbai Indians pull off resurgence after poor start to the season?

Mumbai Indians have made a remarkable comeback in IPL 2025 after a dismal start. MI were at the ninth position at the initial stage of the season before jumping to the third spot with 12 points.

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Mumbai Indians’ resurgence

Mumbai Indians are on a remarkable comeback trail after a disappointing start to the campaign in the IPL 2025, where they won just one match in their six outings. In the first matches of the ongoing season, the five–time IPL champions were at the ninth spot with just 2 points and they were on the verge of early exit from the tournament.

However, Mumbai Indians, led by Hardik Pandya, pulled off an incredible resurgence by winning the next five matches on the trot and broke into the top 4 on the points table, currently sitting at the third spot with 12 points. Their latest victory came against Lucknow Super Giants, winning the match by 54 runs at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday, April 27. The comeback after poor start to the season reignited the hopes of qualifying for the playoffs and winning the record-breaking sixth IPL title.

Since Mumbai Indians making an incredible comeback has been one of the talking points of the IPL season, how the five-time IPL champions have managed to turn their fortunes around.

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Rohit Sharma returning to form

One of the key factors behind Mumbai Indians making an incredible comeback after being below the points table was Rohit Sharma’s return to form. Rohit struggled to make an impact in the first six matches of the season, with his scores reading 0, 8, 13, 17, 18, and 26 and accumulated just 82 runs at an average of 13.66. Rohit’s lackluster show at the top-order proved costly for the Mumbai Indians.

However, the former captain finally got into his groove with an unbeaten match-winning innings of 76 off 45. This was followed by another match-winning knock of 70 off 46 balls against Sunrisers Hyderabad. These two innings of Rohit Sharma brought stability in the top-order, with Ryan Rickelton complementing him well by providing aggressive starts.

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Collective effort in the middle-order

Inconsistent performances by the middle-order batters seemed to have plagued Mumbai Indians early in the season, which saw them losing five matches in their six outings. However, the five-time champions’ campaign witnessed a turnaround led by the likes of Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, and Naman Dhir began to step up when the team needed them the most.

Suryakumar has been quite flexible with his batting position, which MI smartly utilized depending on the situations of the match, whether it was accelerating the innings or stabilizing the innings after early setbacks. The flamboyant right-handed batter is the second leading run-getter of the IPL 2025, amassing 427 runs, including 3 fifties, at an average of 61 in 10 matches. While, Dhir has been quite reliable lower-order batter, who plays quickfire knocks to provide crucial finishes and help Mumbai Indians post a solid total.

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Hardik Pandya’s strategic captaincy

One of the areas of improvement that led to Mumbai Indians’ resurgence was Hardik Pandya’s sharp and strategic captaincy. After facing criticism for MI’s poor start, Hardik made strategic changes, especially in batting reshuffles, where Will Jacks was promoted to No.3, while Suryakumar Yadav was brought to No.4 position depending on the match situations in order to maximize his impact. The result was seen in the both home and away matches against Sunrisers Hyderabad as well as against Lucknow Super Giants.

Hardik Pandya utilized the bowlers tactically in the middle-overs and death overs by introducing spinner Mitchell Santner, Karn Sharma, and Will Jacks to apply brakes on the scoring rate, while keeping his strike pacers, Trent Boult and Jasprit Bumrah at the death overs. Despite the return of Jasprit Bumrah after injury break, Hardik continued with Trent Boult and Deepak Chahar as new ball bowlers, as they were both instrumental in the powerplay for MI in the absence of Bumrah. Apart from his captaincy, Hardik Pandya contributed with his all-round performance, scoring 109 runs and 12 wickets, including a fifer in 10 matches.

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MI bowlers firing all cylinders

One of the key factors behind the resurgence of Mumbai Indians has been the bowling unit. The return of Jasprit Bumrah further strengthened the pace bowling attack. Boult and Chahar have been quite impactful in the powerplay, with the latter shouldering the responsibility in the death overs. With Bumrah back in action, MI's pace bowling attack became more lethal. In the last five matches, the pace bowlers picked 22 wickets. Not to forget Ashwani Kumari, who had an impressive debut with 4-wicket haul, which was instrumental in MI’s first win of the season.

The pace bowling trio’s ability to pick wickets in the powerplay has enabled spinner Mitchell Santner to bring control in the middle overs, restricting the opposition’s flow of runs. Being the lead spinner for MI, Santner has effectively utilized the conditions to choke the opposition batters, especially during crucial situations, while his ability to bowl in different variations have forced middle-order to falter or struggle to get going.

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What’s next for Mumbai Indians?

Mumbai Indians have definitely gained a huge momentum with five wins on the trot and climbing to third spot from being at the 9th spot on the points table, but it is important for the five-time IPL champions to maintain their consistency and keep up the pressure in the remaining matches. MI are still in the race for the playoffs and have not qualified yet as Delhi Capitals, Lucknow Super Giants and Punjab Kings are also in contention, making the remaining fixtures crucial.

Mumbai Indians have two away matches against Rajasthan Royals and Punjab Kings, and as many home games against Gujarat Titans and Delhi Capitals in the league. If MI could secure at least two wins in their remaining four league stage outings, they could secure their berth for the playoffs.