May 2, 2025: Former Indian cricketer Ambati Rayudu shared insights into Mumbai Indians’ (MI) success, highlighting the franchise’s smart planning and strategic execution as key factors behind their strong performances. Speaking on Jio Hotstar, Rayudu emphasized MI’s ability to adapt to conditions and make bold decisions, such as their rare use of short balls at the Wankhede Stadium.
MI’s success, according to Rayudu, stems from their ability to understand and capitalize on conditions. “Look at the number of short balls they bowled today, which is rare at Wankhede. But they understood the conditions and executed well,” Rayudu noted. He also spoke about how MI excels in the business end of the IPL, stating that the team sticks to its roles, plays to its strengths, and handles pressure better than most.
Rayudu further praised the franchise for its depth, saying that once MI makes it to the playoffs, they become a formidable team. “You can pick 9-10 individual match-winners in their playing XI,” he added. This depth has been particularly evident in MI’s recent win over Rajasthan Royals (RR), where their bowlers – Karn Sharma (3/23), Trent Boult (3/28), and Jasprit Bumrah (2/15) – played key roles in MI’s dominant 100-run victory.
MI, after a rocky start to the season with four losses from their first five matches, bounced back to register their sixth consecutive win, defeating RR while setting a massive target of 218. Rayudu mentioned that MI’s ability to adapt, stay calm, and execute plans efficiently makes them a team to reckon with during the latter stages of the tournament.
Rayudu also took time to preview the upcoming match between Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Gujarat Titans. He noted that SRH, after a recent victory over struggling Chennai Super Kings, still has significant work to do, especially with their batting. “Their batting must fire big,” Rayudu said, adding that facing a strong Gujarat Titans squad, particularly their bowling attack, would not be an easy task.
Gujarat Titans, captained by Shubman Gill, are currently in good form, sitting fourth on the points table with 6 wins from 9 matches. In contrast, SRH, led by Pat Cummins, is struggling at the bottom, with only 3 wins from 9 matches.