IPL 2019: Challenges that Mumbai Indians overcame to win the title

The 12th edition of the Indian Premier League has come to an end the arithmetic of the Mumbai Indians winning it every alternate year is still true and running. Rohit Sharma's men topped the table this year. Next, they played the first qualifier and won it convincingly against the Chennai Super Kings.

The last three occasions where Mumbai lifted that trophy, were all against the team that featured Dhoni. In 2013 and 2015, it was against the Chennai Super Kings. However, in 2017, it was the Rising Pune Supergiant which was not led by Dhoni but still it was pretty much known as his team.

This year, however, defeating them in the first qualifier wasn't going to be enough. Dhoni and his team made a come back after winning the second qualifier to set up yet another date with the Mumbai Indians in the finals and it was a thrilling ride for everyone who saw it. The final turned out to be one of the greatest matches in the history of the tournament.

However, it was not a completely perfect season for the winners. There have been some problems that the Mumbai faced through the course of the tournament. Although, they adapted well to these problems and came out as the victorious camp in the end. Here is look at the challenges the team faced.

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#3 Rohit Sharma's batting

Rohit Sharma left a lot to desire with the bat (Picture Courtesy-BCCI/iplt20.com)

One of the biggest concerns for the team was the skipper's batting form. Rohit Sharma would have liked a lot more runs of his willow. While his captaincy was impeccable, he scored just 405 runs in 15 innings at an average of just over 28. Though this is not an alarming concern going into the World Cup, it was surely a year to forget for the 32-year old with the bat.

#2 Unavalibility of overseas pacers

Mumbai was constantly troubled with overseas players not being available (Picture Courtesy-BCCI/iplt20.com)

Another thing that Mumbai overcame exceedingly well was the injuries and unavailability of their overseas fast bowlers. The MI camp faced a blow even before the season started as Adam Milne was out with an injury. So, in came his replacement in Caribbean pacer Aljarri Joseph. He had a memorable debut with the side, taking six wickets for just 12 runs against Sunrisers Hyderabad.

However, after playing a couple of matches, he too suffered an injury and was ruled out for the full season. Jason Behrendorff also had to go back home for the World Cup camp with Australia. However, the pace bowling attack was not out of gas. Mitchell McClenaghan, Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, and Lasith Malinga took over and came out to assemble an attack as good as any in the tournament.

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#1 Missing an established spinner

Rahul Chahar was the find of the season (Picture Courtesy- BCCI/iplt20.com)

One problem that could have haunted the Mumbai Indians was the absence of a known name in the spin bowling department. But this team is known for making stars out of players, rather than just buying established names. Out came a young leggie Rahul Chahar who took 13 wickets at an astounding economy of under seven. He has been the find of the season for the Mumbai Indians and is not so far away from the making the Indian team as well. Chahar does not have many variations, but a clever mind has been enough for the youngster to get the better of batsmen this season.

Overall, the men in blue and gold have been the team to beat this season, and have all the tools to remain a force to reckon with if they retain their core next season.