IPL 2016 season was quite a rollercoaster ride for us. We ended our campaign at an anguishing 5th position, one spot shy of the playoffs. Our tournament was filled with ups and downs as we missed out on the playoff spot for the first time since the second edition of IPL. This is not to say that the season didn’t produce some great memories in IPL 9. Even when the situation was tough and the team was under pressure, we revelled in it.

We didn’t have the best of starts this season. The team has maintained a reputation over the years of peaking at the right time & this season was no different. MI had a slow start as we slumped down the points table due to initial losses. The injuries at the beginning of the tournament didn’t help our cause either. Lendl Simmons, who was in good form, had to leave the camp on account of an injury. We also lost our strike bowler Lasith Malinga to a recurring injury which ruled him out of the season. It took time for us to get going, as we were able to secure just two victories from six games. The situation wasn’t good and we were languishing at the 6th position on the points table.

We did make a strong case for ourselves by winning the next 3 games against KXIP, KKR and RPS to reach the second spot on the points table. MI had two must win matches towards the end of the tournament and made the most of the home conditions in the first match, winning in style. However, the victory was short-lived as we lost the next game, ending our journey in IPL 2016.

Throughout this expedition, the team came together and delivered strong performances at crucial junctures in the tournament with the help of exceptional young talent in the form of Krunal Pandya & Nitish Rana. Krunal is one of those youngsters who grabbed his opportunity with both hands to become one of the mainstays in the team. Nitish Rana who played in the latter half of the season also showed that he is capable of handling the pressure. His brilliant knock in our last league match cannot be forgotten. The foreign players, Kieron, Mitch and Jos showed the fans their worth with valuable contributions throughout the season. The youngsters along with some exceptional foreign talent were backed by the experience of Rohit and Rayudu, both of which played some scintillating knocks.
IPL 9 has been a great learning curve for all the youngsters in the team. They will be ready for the next season and they can hit the ground running. It will be a treat to watch these amazing youngsters play the next season of IPL coming in with more experience, making MI a force to be reckoned with.