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One Big Happy Family

By Mumbai Indians

Our season-opener on April 7 was a humdinger. Oh, you know that already. The Chennai Super Kings celebrated their return to the competition with a one-wicket win on our home ground. It was a bitter pill to swallow, but we discovered Mayank Markande, didn’t we? Remember how he foxed MS Dhoni. Woah, that was a brilliant googly. And 3/23 on debut.

It was time to fly to Hyderabad, the city of Nizams, palaces, pearls and biryani. And it was time to celebrate. Paul Chapman, our strength and conditioning coach, turned a year older. Or did he? The boys even got the ground staff at the airport to wish him. And there were cakes. To eat and to smash. Chappie is a fine sport, so he played along.


Paul Chapman, our strength and conditioning coach, celebrates his ‘birthday’ with the airport ground staff.

Alas, we suffered another heartbreaking loss on April 12. This time Markande got 4/23, including the big scalp of Shikhar Dhawan, as well as the Purple Cap. Even Mustafizur Rahman bowled well to finish with 3/24. But it just wasn’t our day.


Mayank Markande dons the Purple Cap for the first time in the season.

It was time for the loudest fixture of the season — the #ESAMatchday! Education And Sports For All, an initiative that’s very close to the heart of Mrs Nita Ambani, works for the benefit of 13 million children. The Wankhede was a sea of blue for the 4 pm match on April 14. As many as 21,000 children witnessed the action. We did most things right, but couldn’t put it past Delhi Daredevils. Believe it or not, it was another last-ball finish! Playing his first match for the Daredevils, Jason Roy broke many a heart with an unbeaten 91 off 53. We derived positives from this loss too — Suryakumar Yadav made 53 in his first match as an opener, Evin Lewis smashed 48 and young Ishan Kishan hit an impressive 44. Still no points, though.


Suryakumar Yadav plays a ramp shot during his 53-run knock against DD.

New Zealander Adam Milne joined our squad as a replacement for Australian Pat Cummins, who was ruled out of the league with an injury he suffered on international duty in South Africa. Milne is known to deal in the 150s. Yeah, he’s that quick. And given that he started his first-class career under the guidance of Shane Bond, it qualifies as a sort of homecoming for Milne! The 26-year-old has also played association football. His training regimen back home is monitored by Chris Donaldson, an Olympic sprinter who is now the strength and conditioning coach of the Black Caps.


Adam Milne hits the ground running after joining the squad.

MI Icon Sachin Tendulkar made his presence felt at the team’s training session on the eve of the big game against Royal Challengers Bangalore. He offered tips to Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya besides holding a long discussion with head coach Mahela Jayawardene. We needed to get the engine up and running after three close heartbreaks.


MI Icon Sachin Tendulkar discusses the finer points of batting with captain Rohit Sharma.

Erin Holland, a former Miss World Australia, took a break from her assignment with Star India, the official broadcaster of the league, to be a part of MI. Holland took things a step ahead by graciously agreeing to take over MI’s Instagram Stories on match day. Boy, wasn’t she wonderful?


Erin Holland gets hold of the Mumbai Indians jersey ahead of the big match against RCB.

And our boys on the field gave her quite a lot to cheer about! After three agonising losses, we finally secured out first points of the season. It was a complete performance from the team. Rohit Sharma led the way with an imperious 94 and Evin Lewis wowed the spectators with some big sixes even as Krunal Pandya, Mitchell McClenaghan, Jasprit Bumrah and Mayank Markande were all among the wickets. Markande reclaimed the Purple Cap! Virat Kohli was stranded on 92. He opened the innings but seldom found an able ally. We won by 46 runs!


Rohit Sharma celebrates his 50th half-century in T20s.

There was one unfortunate episode, though. Young Ishan Kishan suffered a freak injury to the eye. He was collecting a throw from Hardik Pandya, and he missed the line of the ball. The medicos attended to him on the field of play. Skipper Sharma calmed us all by revealing at the post-match press conference that Kishan was doing fine. And Kishan himself thrilled us all by turning up at the ESA Cricket Tournament the following morning. His eye was still swollen but he was in high spirits. The tournament, it itself, was a super hit with four MI players — Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah, Krunal Pandya and Lasith Malinga — turning out for the two finalists. In a match ranking high on the entertainment quotient, Shishu Vidya Mandir won the big prize by defeating Aseema Achievers. Mrs Nita Ambani graced the occasion and gave away the medals. She also delivered a moving speech highlighting how far the ESA initiative had come and how many lives it impacted. The presence of the MI players enthralled the 1,000-plus children seated in the Garware Pavilion. It was a special day to say the least.


Mrs. Nita Ambani, Hardik Pandya and Lasith Malinga cheer for the teams at the ESA Cricket Tournament.

A travel day calls for the travel kit. Suryakumar Yadav misplaced his. But we had him covered. Only he could have pulled that one off! The team touched down in Jaipur. Oh, and yes, Paul Chapman was greeted with flowers and all that. Apparently, it was his wedding anniversary. As always, he played along. The boys are geared up for the fifth match of the season. Rajasthan Royals have always done well at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium. That said, our boys are in a happy space following the emphatic victory against RCB. Game on, then!


Long live, MI Emojis!