3 similarities in MI between IPL 2022 and 2023

When Mumbai Indians (MI) all-rounder Cameron Green tried to hit Ravindra Jadeja's fuller-length delivery down the ground during their IPL 2023 match on Saturday (April 8), he wouldn't have expected what happened next.

The power generated by him was more than enough to take the ball to the boundary. However, Jadeja hoisted his hand up in self-defence and somehow held onto the catch. A dejected Green couldn't believe his luck. The delivery was there to be hit, which he did rather well.

This very much sums up the campaign of the five-time champions, who are in a familiar predicament again this year, starting the season with two consecutive losses.

In last year's edition, they lost eight matches on the trot and finished the tournament with only four wins in 14 matches, getting the wooden spoon for the first time in their illustrious history.

Here, we are listing three similarities between the Mumbai Indians' IPL 2022 and 2023 campaigns.

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1) MI's opening woes

If any team has an opening duo of Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan, then you can only imagine fireworks in the powerplay. Considering Rohit's game against pace and that of Ishan's against spin and the ideal left-right combination, they have the prowess to demolish any kind of bowling attack.

However, the two were extra cautious during the powerplay overs in IPL 2022, striking at a rate of only 116 in the first six overs - the lowest among the ten teams.

Their individual performances were also below par, to say the least.

IPL 2022 was the first time that Rohit finished a season without a single fifty, which was nothing short of a shock for not only himself but also for cricket analysts.

In 14 games, all he managed was 268 runs at an average of 19.14 and a below-par SR of 120.17.

After a late resuscitation, Ishan did manage to score more than 400 runs, but his SR of 120 was something that team management would not have liked from him.

In IPL 2023 as well, both seem to be struggling to provide the team with a brisk start, with Rohit and Ishan scoring 22 and 42 runs, respectively.

Their respective SRs of 96 and 124 aren't great either, which puts extra pressure on the middle order to not only revive the innings but also take the team to a respectable total.

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2) MI's off-colour bowling

They say half the tournament is won at the auction table. The Mumbai Indians' overspending on certain players in the mega auction has affected their bowling resources adversely.

They have failed to assemble a potent bowling attack that could cover all phases of the innings. Their Indian bowling and spin department seems to be very light.

Last year, it was all on the shoulders of Jasprit Bumrah and this year, Jofra Archer has to carry the whole bowling on his injury-prone elbows.

This problem was visible in IPL 2022 as well as in IPL 2023. Not only did they fail to control the flow of runs, but their lack of wickets also cost them big time.

They also rued the absence of a middle over enforcer and hit the deck bowler, which they didn't address in the mini auction.

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3) Lack of stability in MI's playing XI

One of the main reasons for the franchise's success is that they trust their core players and play a stable starting XI throughout the tournament.

But last year they utilized the most number of players from their squad, which shows how much they are having to chop and change their starting XI, disturbing the balance more often than not.

This year also, after losing one match, they made two changes to their XI, and it seems after their second loss that this trend is not going to be ending soon.