Batsmen win you games, but bowlers win you tournaments. So goes the saying. Mumbai Indians are on the ascendancy alright, but there’s still some way we go before we can assure ourselves of a spot in the playoffs. Once we get there, the boys know what it takes to go all the way.

Our team may have won only four of its 10 assignments thus far, but the performance of the bowling unit deserves a lot of credit. To have one of your players grace the list of top wicket-takers is an achievement in itself. MI have two in the top three. And three in the top 10. The 11th and 12th positions also belong to our bowlers.

RACE FOR THE PURPLE CAP

Hardik Pandya and Mayank Markande lead the way

Player (Team)	Mat	Overs	Runs	Wickets	Best	Avg	Econ	SR
Hardik Pandya (MI)	9	27.4	235	14	3/24	16.78	8.49	11.8
Mayank Markande (MI)	10	32	255	13	4/23	19.61	7.96	14.7
Umesh Yadav (RCB)	9	34.1	275	13	3/23	21.15	8.04	15.7
Trent Boult (DD)	10	36.5	330	13	2/21	25.38	8.95	17
Mujeeb Ur Rahman (KXIP)	9	35	240	12	3/27	20	6.85	17.5
Rashid Khan (SRH)	9	36	255	12	3/19	21.25	7.08	18
Siddarth Kaul (SRH)	9	36	257	12	3/23	21.41	7.13	18
Sunil Narine (KKR)	10	37	281	12	3/18	23.41	7.59	18.5
Andrew Tye (KXIP)	9	36	277	12	2/23	23.08	7.69	18
Jasprit Bumrah (MI)	10	40	277	11	2/28	25.18	6.92	21.8
Mitchell McClenaghan (MI)	8	29	243	11	2/22	22.09	8.37	15.8
Krunal Pandya (MI)	10	27	201	9	3/28	22.33	7.44	18

Note: Updated after KXIP v RR on May 6, 2018

The legendary Jacques Kallis once said that all-rounders are a fortunate bunch because they get “two chances” in every game. If you fail with the bat, you get to make up for it with the ball. And vice versa. And, on some days, you carry the confidence derived by doing well in one department by excelling in the other. More like one thing helps the other.

Against Kolkata Knight Riders at Wankhede Stadium on Sunday, Hardik Pandya did just that. First, he smashed his way to an unbeaten 35 off 20 balls to lift MI to 181/4. Then, he used the short ball to good effect and returned brilliant figures of 4-0-19-2. And, in the process, he leapfrogged his rivals to take his tally for the season to 14. Fittingly enough, the country’s premier all-rounder is in possession of the Purple Cap. Hardik had turned in a similar all-round performance — 3/28 & 50 — against Royal Challengers Bangalore in Bengaluru, but we ended up on the losing side then.

As a player, Hardik has improved by leaps and bounds in the last two years. He is a regular in the shorter formats of the game for Team India. His development as a Test cricketer has also been noteworthy. In fact, it’s just a matter of time before he establishes himself as one of the best all-rounders in the business.

The No. 2 spot on the wicket-takers list is occupied by Mayank Markande. He is, without doubt, the find of the season for MI. The 20-year-old leg-spinner from Punjab has 13 wickets in the bag, and he only seems to be getting more and more mature, sensible and dependable with every passing game.

Markande hit the headlines when he claimed MS Dhoni leg-before with a googly in the season-opener. He bettered his showing in that match — 3/23 — with an even more impressive performance against Sunrisers Hyderabad in the next game. His 4/23 included the scalps of Shikhar Dhawan, Manish Pandey, Wriddhiman Saha and Shakib Al Hasan. In the last game against KKR, Markande caused us a lot of anguish by dropping a dolly off the bowling of Hardik. The beneficiary, Robin Uthappa, made the most of that indiscretion to go from four to 54. His knock brought KKR right back in the game. Under pressure, but by no means distraught, Markande made amends by removing Uthappa to claim his 13th wicket in 10 outings. Let’s not forget, he’s already worn the Purple Cap on three occasions this season. Surely, his best is yet to come.

Jasprit Bumrah, Mitchell McClenaghan and Krunal Pandya have also contributed immensely this season. Together, our five-man-strong unit has picked up 58 out of a possible 100 wickets this season. Add to this the contribution of our other bowlers and run-outs, and our tally is 66. At 6.6, our wickets per match ratio is also the best among all teams.

MAKING THE BALL TALK

MI have picked up the most number of wickets in the 2018 Vivo IPL. We also have the most bowlers with 10-plus wickets this season. Our wickets:match ratio is also the highest

Team	Matches	Wickets	Bowlers with 10+ wickets	Wickets/match
MI	10	66	4	6.60
SRH	9	56	2	6.22
KXIP	9	50	0	5.56
CSK	10	55	0	5.50
RCB	9	48	1	5.33
DD	10	53	1	5.30
KKR	10	51	1	5.10
RR	9	40	0	4.44

Bumrah is not just the leader of the MI attack. He is a vital cog in the Team India set-up. So much so that he is the world’s top-ranked bowler in ODI cricket. In Twenty20 Internationals, his rank is 11th. These are phenomenal achievements. And they speak of his rise as a cricketer. The sobriquet ‘Yorker King’ belongs to him. Add ‘Dot Ball Boss’ to that. With 98 dots in 10 matches, Bumrah tops the charts this season. In the 2017 season, 124 of the 444 balls he sent down were dots. Only KKR’s Sunil Narine (133 out of 412) had more. In 2016, his first full season with MI, Bumrah had 108 dots to his credit. Markande also features on this list.

DOT BALL KINGS

Jasprit Bumrah tops this list

Player (Team)	Matches	Dot Balls
Jasprit Bumrah (MI)	10	98
Umesh Yadav (RCB)	9	95
Rashid Khan (SRH)	9	87
Trent Boult (DD)	10	87
Yuzvendra Chahal (RCB)	9	85
Sunil Narine (KKR)	10	82
Piyush Chawla (KKR)	10	82
Mujeeb Ur Rahman (KXIP)	9	81
Siddarth Kaul	9	77
Mayank Markande	10	73

The job is not even half done, but our bowlers have given us a great chance of going ahead in the tournament. Let’s hope they continue the good work.