Which is the best title win by Mumbai Indians?

Mumbai Indians bagged yet another IPL title to record 5 crowns, the most by any team in the history of this tournament. This time, Mumbai won it in the even year. Previously, they have won four titles in odd years – 2013, 2015, 2017, and 2019. They have defeated CSK 3 times, and RPS and Delhi Capitals once each in the five finals.

So, which is the best title win by Mumbai Indians?

2015 IPL title

Mumbai Indians IPL — *Mumbai Indians (Image Credits: IPLT20)*

Among all the title triumphs, the 2015 IPL victory was one of the most memorable wins for Mumbai. Here are a few reasons.

1) Mumbai lost their first four matches

Mumbai began the tournament in a disastrous note, losing their first four matches. They lost against KKR, KXIP, RR, CSK to post 0 points from 4 games, and were languishing at the bottom of the table. Another loss would have made it hard for them to stay in contention for play-offs. But in the very next game, they came up with a good batting performance to beat RCB by 18 runs in a high-scoring game.

2) MI came up with great substitutes

Lendl Simmons Mumbai — *Lendl Simmons (Image Credits: CricketCountry)*

Mumbai faced setback initially, losing regular opener Aaron Finch and all-rounder Corey Anderson to injuries for the rest of season. But they found good backups in opener Lendl Simmons who emerged the highest run-getter for Mumbai that season with 540 runs in 13 matches, and provided great starts to the innings. Simmons was the joint second-highest run-getter with Ajinkya Rahane of Rajasthan Royals behind David Warner of Sunrisers Hyderabad.

3) Mitchell McClenaghan made the difference

Mitchell McClenaghan Mumbai — *Mitchell McClenaghan (Image Credits: Sportzwiki)*

They also found a good striking bowler in Kiwi pacer in Mitchell McClenaghan to support Lasith Malinga at the other end. And the two hunted in pairs, and put Mumbai on path to victory. McClenaghan took 3/25 and Malinga bagged 2/25 in the final.

4) Winning momentum

After posting four losses in a row initially, Mumbai needed to win 8 out of 10 games to qualify for play-offs. And they did one better, by winning 9 games out of 10 to take the second spot in the points table. They then defeated CSK in Qualifier 1 and the final to win their 2nd IPL title.

Cover Credits: IPLT20official