The Mumbai Indians have fought back with a victory over the Gujarat Titans to end their nightmare 4-match losing streak. Hardik Pandya stated in the post-match interview that “Things will change now”. There have been so many positives for the Mumbai Indians to look at today and undoubtedly it has been a dominant performance. From the sensational century of Tilak Varma to the clinical 4-wicket haul of Ashwani Kumar, they have ticked every box possible in this match.

With their 2nd victory of the season, the Mumbai Indians will feel elated to make their way back into the tournament. The fans and experts had counted them out after the 4-match losing streak but skipper Hardik Pandya has shown tremendous faith in the depth of the squad. He has made some bold changes to the squad and has also shuffled his bowling order in the power play as well. They can make a strong case for themselves to qualify for the playoffs, if they continue to play such good cricket.

Tilak Varma’s century and Ashwani Kumar’s four-for headline MI’s commanding comeback victory

There was visible frustration among the Mumbai Indians players as they started to get the feeling that it may not be their season. Jasprit Bumrah, the world’s best bowler couldn’t even pick a wicket in the first 5 matches of the season. Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma were not contributing enough with the bat in the middle phases of the game. Rohit Sharma was injured in the game against RCB and they had to change their batting order. Deepak Chahar and Shardul Thakur were way too expensive with the ball and Bumrah didn’t receive any support from the other end. Despite the areas of concern, the Mumbai Indians fought back and silenced their critics.

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When the game began, things started unfolding in typical Mumbai Indians fashion this season as they lost 3 wickets in the power play itself. But from then on, Tilak Varma took charge of the innings and he played an absolute blinder. He was initially slow to get off the blocks but then with the partnership of Hardik Pandya, he switched gears in an instant. Tilak Varma scored a phenomenal century, scoring 101 runs off 45 balls. In the 2nd innings, Jasprit Bumrah redeemed himself with a wicket off the first ball to send Sai Sudharshan packing. From then it was the Ashwani Kumar show, as he picked up 4 wickets and gave away just 24 runs in his spell. They might as well have found a new spin duo in Allah Ghazanfar and Mitchell Santner as they picked up 2 wickets each.

The Mumbai Indians won by a commanding margin of 99 runs and that would have helped their net run rate be slightly better. However, they will be more concerned about winning matches as they have lost way too many matches at the start and will have to try and win every game from now on. With positives blooming for the Mumbai Indians side, you cannot count them out of the tournament.