With Mumbai Indians it's like the West Indies in 70s and Australia later, that winning vibe in the dressing room: Sanjay Manjrekar

Mumbai Indians’ journey at the IPL 2023 has been a memorable one. After losing several games in the initial stages of the tournament, they bounced back stronger and strengthened their position in the points table, eventually making their way into the playoffs. As the knockout stage approaches, the Rohit Sharma-led side will be facing the Lucknow Super Giants in the Eliminator.

Even after a victory in their last league game against Sunrisers Hyderabad, Mumbai’s qualification chances had been hanging on a thin thread. Royal Challengers Bangalore were also in contention as they had to win their last game against Gujarat Titans so as to overtake MI and make it to the top four. But RCB’s loss led to MI’s qualification.

The five-time champions have been doing really well of late, putting up targets of over 200 runs and even chasing 200+ totals, and former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar believes that just like the West Indies team from the 70s, Mumbai Indians too have a winning environment in the dressing room.

“With Mumbai Indians, I guess, like the West Indies in the 70s and Australia later, just that winning vibe in the dressing room. So anyone who comes in knows that he is with a side that is superior to the others, and that is the confidence they will take into the game, no matter who the captain is,” Manjrekar said while speaking on Star Sports.

We have all underestimated the quality of some of their bowlers: Manjrekar

He continued by saying that MI's comeback in the tournament was made possible by their elite batting, and he added that this season, the calibre of their bowling had been underrated. Suryakumar Yadav and Cameron Green both scored their first IPL hundreds for MI, which enabled them to win significant league matches and go to the playoffs.

“With Mumbai Indians, the other thing to highlight is that what's got them back into this tournament is high-class batting. We have all underestimated the quality of some of their bowlers. Chawla coming back into IPL cricket from virtual retirement, brilliant performance as a mainstay spinner. Behrendorff sort of under the radar, always took powerplay wickets,” he added.

“Halfway through this season, you realize Mumbai Indians just didn't have a team. Bumrah wasn't there, Archer wasn't there, their batting wasn't firing, and it looked like a team that would continue to be average for a while in future IPLs as well. And suddenly, this turnaround,” Manjrekar concluded.