They say that Mumbai Indians (MI) is a team that is an epitome of the never-say-attitude. And they lived up that expectation of theirs. Rohit Sharma and co. once again started slow and ended up picking up pace towards the end of the league stage round.
Mumbai finished in the 4th position and defeated Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in the Eliminator. They looked solid but a disappointing performance from the bowlers in Qualifier 2 saw them get knocked out of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023. Gujarat Titans (GT) beat them by 62 runs in the game.
Nevertheless, Mumbai should be quite proud of themselves for their exemplary performances in IPL 2023. There were several unexpected players who performed exceedingly well for them in the tournament.
In this article, we take a look at 3 Mumbai Indians players who played beyond expectations in IPL 2023:
1. Nehal Wadhera
Several cricket pundits praised Nehal Wadhera for his spectacular performances in this edition of the IPL. Even skipper Rohit Sharma asked everyone to watch out for him in the coming editions, in an interview with JioCinema.
His batting style resembles Yuvraj Singh and he played several impactful knocks for the 5-time champions. Nehal Wadhera mustered 241 runs in 14 games and had a good strike-rate of 145.18.
In Match 49 of IPL 2023, Wadhera scored a crucial knock of 64 runs in just 51 balls under pressure against Chennai Super Kings (CSK).
2. Aakash Madhwal
No matter how many praises and appreciation write-ups we write about Aakash Madhwal, it will fall short. The 29-year-old bowler punched above his weight and had a sensational IPL 2023.
Madhwal finished as the 2nd highest wicket-taker of Mumbai Indians and showcased his skill and mettle in this edition of the IPL. The right-arm pacer bagged 14 wickets in 8 games and stood out as one of the potent bowlers of Mumbai.
His figures of 5/5 in the all-important Eliminator against Lucknow was his best performance.
3. Tilak Verma
We saw glimpses of Tilak Verma in IPL 2022 and he simply continued from where he left off. The 20-year-old batter batted with supreme maturity in IPL 2023 and proved to everyone that he is a priceless asset of Mumbai Indians.
Having scored 343 runs in 11 games in IPL 2023, Tilak Verma has already established himself as a solid batter in the middle-order for Mumbai Indians.
Verma scored a quickfire knock of 43 runs in just 14 balls in the Qualifier 2 match in IPL 2023 but his exceptional knock went in vain.
Also read: IPL 2023: A Review Of Mumbai Indians’ Spectacular Campaign