Notice to opposition: MI have the momentum

Mumbai: The importance of momentum in team sport has been the subject of many a debate. No one can truly say if a winning streak in the middle of a trophy campaign means anything more than the winning points but ask the team which is on the run, and they will be true believers. In the IPL, Mumbai Indians are currently that team.

The six consecutive wins have helped them top of the table with 14 points in 11 matches. But had a slow start to the tournament. MI began with an opening match loss for the thirteenth consecutive occasion. They lost four of their first five matches too, leaving themselves to play catch up. And catch up they did.

Now, they are the team to beat and one can truly say that as there is no home bias in their unbeaten run. Three of their six straight wins have come away. Three wins have been secured chasing. On other occasions, they have defended totals successfully.

In Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma and Hardik Pandya, their middle order is the most dynamic. With Thursday’s hundred-run stand in Jaipur, their openers – the young and old, left and right, Ryan Rickelton and Rohit Sharma are firing together. Deepak Chahar and Trent Boult are swinging the new ball. Jasprit Bumrah, the backbone of their bowling, or let’s say their entire team set up is fit and firing again. Among spinners, senior pros Karn Sharma and Mitchell Santner have both contributed. Either can play based on opposition and conditions.

Why were they not up and running straightaway, then? Well, captain Pandya missed the first tie. Bumrah was unfit for the first four matches. Rohit wasn’t firing. Surya looked a bit dull too. Let’s also not forget that IPL teams come with a slightly different look every year. The team make-up changes drastically after the mega auction. And this is that first post-mega auction year. But once a skilled team like MI gels together, it’s usually bad news for the opposition.

The momentum advantage in the IPL is different from a longer league like the Premier League. The IPL is a shorter, condensed version — one where winning lots of matches at a stretch, perhaps means even more. For you are consistently defeating evenly matched squads, built on the principle of equal salary purse.

History says a streak of six or more successive wins has on seven out of ten occasions resulted in teams making the final. In four of those occasions, those teams have gone on to lift the title.

MI themselves did it before in 2017 when they got on a six-match winning run early. In the current season, they are invoking more the spirit of 2015, or so they would hope. That’s when the Rohit Sharma-led side began with five losses in their first six matches, then won five matches in a row and went on to lift the trophy.

Being in this back-against-the-wall territory is when teams seek inspiration from anywhere they can. “We started expressing ourselves, started to play for our self-respect and then the confidence came back,” Virat Kohli said about their famous come-from-behind 2024 campaign. Although they were finally out in the Eliminator, RCB’s playoff qualification – despite starting with one win in eight matches – will continue to inspire.

MI have raced to the top so quickly that they need to guard against complacency. Two of their three remaining matches are at home. And the five-time winners are one team that has managed to maximise home advantage — with four wins in five at the Wankhede. They are in pole position to not just make the playoffs, but finish in the top two and that can be a big advantage.

“I think it is good to be on top. When you finish in the top two, you get an extra chance,” said Chahar after Thursday’s thumping win against Rajasthan Royals. “Also, the momentum is with us.”

Whether you believe it or not, Mumbai Indians will.