Mumbai Indians are favourites

The long season is over and what an unbelievable season it has been for Indian cricket team They won just about everything in sight and also are now in the finals of the World Test ChampionshipThat should be something to look forward to as New Zealand the other finalist defeated India in the semifinals of the ICC World Cup 2019 in England Not to forget that they also thrashed India 20 at home a little more than a year backThe conditions in England will be familiar for New Zealand plus they will be playing two Test matches against England in June just before the WTC finals so they will be acclimatised as well as in Test match mode even as India and some New Zealand players will be coming off the IPL which ends on May 30Yes the glitziest T20 league starts later in the week and as always it promises to provide entertainment and thrills galore It has never been easy to predict who will win because the format is such that a game can turn on its head in a matter of deliveriesEvery team have got gamechangers with both bat and ball and the crucial element as usual will be which team have got more petrol in the tank as it comes to the playoff stageThe inexperienced player tends to heave a sigh of relief at qualifying for the playoffs and is then sometimes unable to recapture the energy and intensity that was there at the league stageBig spendingThere were some big money buys at the mini auction held earlier in the year and all eyes will be on them and their performances analysed threadbare with some even going to the extent of calculating how much each run or wicket was in relation to the price they were bought atIn recent times there has been a trend to go big for bowlers especially of the quicker variety as teams are looking for those who can close the game out This could well be the result of seeing the manner in which Jasprit Bumrah Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Lasith Malinga to name three who have been amazing in the lsquodeath oversrsquoBumrah will be raring to go after the break he has had and in the recent T20 as well as the ODI series against England we saw why Bhuvneshwar is so highly rated in the final overs of the game Mumbai Indians will start as the favourites simply because of the ease with which they won last time Even in the finals they had plenty left in reserve as they coasted to a win in one of the mildest finals of the IPLMost finals go down to the last over but not the one last year in Dubai as Mumbai knocked off the runs as if they were having net practice Their strength has been the fact that they donrsquot make unnecessary changes to their squad and only look to strengthen an area which they feel needs itOne familyThe atmosphere is truly like one family unit and there is genuine joy at each otherrsquos success Their spirit can be seen in the dug out where even during the odd tense situation there will be laughs and smiles with the belief that they will come through that situationIt will take something extraordinary to dislodge them from their perch This being the electric format that it is a team that plays above itself could well do it but it wonrsquot be easy as Mumbai have all its bases coveredMahela Jayawardenersquos success as the coach of Mumbai have made Rajasthan Royals go for another Sri Lankan legend Kumar Sangakkara as its Director of Cricket and lsquoSangarsquosrsquo calm cool analysis of game situations will definitely be a big boost for the men in pinkOther teams have also spent big bucks on individual players like Rajasthan Royals did on Chris Morris and they will be hoping that it will be money well spent We shall soon find outProfessional Management Group