It has been a season to forget for five-time Indian Premier League (IPL) champions Mumbai Indians (MI). Before the start of this edition of the competition, who would have imagined that the Rohit Sharma-led side would be languishing at the bottom of the table with just one more match to play for?
Cricket is a funny game though and if it can take you to the pedestal of the summit, it can make you fall from those heights too. That's exactly what has happened with Mumbai this season.
The once-mighty Mumbai Indians that used to manhandle teams in the IPL is even struggling to put up a show, let alone dominate their rivals in the cash-rich league.
However, MI's struggles are not without a reason.
Till last year they were possibly the strongest team around, at least on paper.
With Jasprit Bumrah and Trent Boult opening the bowling for them, opposition batters hardly got anything away in the powerplay. Instead, these two great speedsters gave Mumbai Indians a fine start more often than not.
If it was hard to score anything against Bumrah due to his immaculate control, Boult delivered the wickets to the team in his early burst.
But with Boult no longer there with the Mumbai Indians, having moved to the Rajasthan Royals (RR), the Rohit Sharma-led side is having teething troubles in restricting their rivals to low scores consistently.
While Bumrah has been doing his bit, having already taken 12 wickets this season with a five-wicket haul against Kolkata Knight Riders being the highlight, Mumbai's bowling doesn't look as threatening as it was before.
Despite Boult's departure, Bumrah's economy has only improved. His economy rate for this season reads 7.26, which is slightly better than his career figures of 7.40.
Yet it does tell a different story as well. Bumrah's economy is a testament to him taking more responsibility for the cause of the team and while the India pacer has excelled in this department, others have not.
Unlike Bumrah, who has been consistently delivering the goods for Mumbai Indians, the other bowlers in the MI line-up haven't been sharp enough to trouble rival batters.
After Boult left its camp, Mumbai Indians opted to buy England star Jofra Archer and he would have certainly made a good pair with Bumrah.
Unfortunately, he got injured and the team management's plan to have the lethal duo bowl together never materialized.
Like their bowling, Mumbai's batting has also faltered this season, with neither Ishan Kishan nor Rohit Sharma firing on all cylinders.
Rohit has looked completely out of sorts, with his highest score being 48 in this season's IPL.
It appears that Rohit Sharma has been bogged down with his team's lack of success on the field and it has even started to take a toll on him mentally.
Rohit has never been in such a situation in the IPL in the past because on more occasions than not, it was his side that was annihilating opposition teams.
This season though, the other teams in the competition, especially newbies like the Gujarat Titans (GT) and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) have been on the rampage and it has affected the Mumbai skipper somewhere down the line, particularly Rohit the batter.
Mumbai Indians were dealt a body blow earlier this month when star batter Suryakumar Yadav (SKY) was ruled out of the tournament due to an injury.
The left forearm muscle injury to SKY was a major setback for MI, considering he was the lone batter who seemed to be in some form.
Before getting injured, he had made 303 runs, including three fifties, in eight games for the team.
The departure of all-rounders Hardik Pandya and Krunal Pandya to Gujarat and Lucknow has had a deep impact on Mumbai's middle order and they are yet to recover from this shock.
Both these men often took Mumbai out of trouble with their quick-fire knocks, taking on the spinners in the middle overs, and the pacers at the death.
The two brothers, however, are no longer there, and with Kieron Pollard not delivering, Rohit and company seem to have a serious problem in their batting department.
For the record, the West Indian is averaging less than 15 and his underwhelming show with the bat is one of the main reasons behind the Mumbai Indians' seething troubles this season.
Mumbai's upper and lower-middle order is a liability at the moment with a majority of the big names, including Rohit and Pollard facing a downward spiral.
It won't be an exaggeration to say that rather than their bowling, it is the batting that has let Mumbai down this season.
Unlike previous seasons when Mumbai used to post big totals while batting first or chased down some of the most monumental figures, they haven't done either of the two this year.
It is hardly a question that most of the Mumbai Indians' players haven't lived up to their potential in IPL 2022, but fans would love to see them back in the groove.
It would be better if they ended their campaign on a high against Delhi Capitals on Saturday – it won't win them the title but would salvage some of their pride at least.
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