Here’s the first thing our Head Coach, Mark Boucher, said after joining the team this year: “The professionalism and attention to detail that MI show is amazing, and our support staff has been amazing.” Our Fa-MI-ly grew in strength, and we began to ride on one word - Believe.

So as we get ready to play the first Eliminator against Lucknow Supergiants, let’s relive these last two months and go through the ups and downs on this road into the play-offs. April 2nd was when it all began ..

MI, the quintessential slow starters. And 2023 was no different!

Match 1, RCBvMI: We kickstarted our journey on a challenging route, hitting two speed-breakers one after the other. Our first game, away in Bengaluru, saw the Royal Challengers Bangalore get the better of us with an eight-wicket victory. Amidst all the gloom, the positive was Tilak Varma showcasing his intent with the bat - as it was last season - with an unbeaten 84.

Match 2, MIvCSK: The wounds from the opener would ache further. Fierce rivals Chennai Super Kings subjected us to a pretty bad seven-wicket loss, in our first home game, at our home ground, the Wankhede. And it was just the wake up call we needed!

The comeback… with three-peat joy! The juggernaut starts rolling

The opening defeats were like a double booster to an injury, and it worked just fine. Why? We returned to winning ways. Not one win but THREE WINS on the trot.

Match 3, DCvMI: It started with the Jason Behrendorff-Piyush Chawla combo unsettling the Delhi Capitals with triple strikes each. Skipper Ro-Hit Sharma would put the final nail in the coffin with a 45-ball 65. Tilak played a strong support cast with 41 in 29 balls.

Match 4, MIvKKR: What better way to put a smile on the faces of 19,000+ girls on ESA Day than with an MI win at our fortress? Ishan Kishan (58) and Suryakumar Yadav (43) were the lead actors in a splendid game of cricket, where the Blue and Gold subdued the threat posed by the Purple and Gold army of Kolkata with a convincing run-chase of a 185-run target in 17.4 overs.

Match 5, SRHvMI: The ‘Green’ signal was kept on for the journey back and forth from Hyderabad, thanks to the all-round display of Cameron Green. An unbeaten 64 and 1/29 proudly underlined his staggering worth to Mumbai. This game had another special moment, as Arjun Tendulkar claimed his maiden IPL wicket.

200 reasons to smile and sigh

The next four games - two home and two away - would be mixed results and 200-plus run fests. Quite a unique script, don’t you think, Paltan?

Match 6, MIvPBKS | Match 9, PBKSvMI: Within 12 days between April 22 and May 3, we had a give-and-take with Punjab Kings. Round 1 saw PBKS edge past us in the contest for an exhibition of runs. But in Round 2, Pocket Dynamo Ishan and Aapla Dada Surya played puppet masters in Mohali with their respective half-tons and a 116-run stand for the third wicket. Tilak Varma would paint the finishing touches with a 10-ball 26.

Match 7, GTvMI | Match 8, MIvRR: Ahmedabad perhaps saw our toughest match: a 55-run defeat in a chase that kind of went nowhere. But redemption was quick, and sweet on our Hitman’s birthday, in the form of a home win against Rajasthan Royals (six wickets).

It was the first time EVER we chased a 200-plus score at the Wankhede Stadium - all thanks to SKY (55), Cam Green (44) and the explicit outburst of confidence from Tim David (45 in 14 balls). The Llord-baton had passed on!

Ugh.. the juggernaut halts again at the CSK gatepost

Match 10, CSKvMI: For the second time this season, we could not proceed past MS Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings. Another one-sided El Clasico where we didn’t quite show up. Young Nehal Wadhera’s 64 off 51 balls helped us post 139/8 in 20 overs, but that ended up being a decent assignment for CSK - all thanks to Devon Conway (44) and Ruturaj Gaikwad (30). Nevertheless, a 22-year-old star was unearthed.

Two Truths and a Lie

Match 11, MIvRCB | Match 12, MIvGT: Speaking of Truths, the promise of fearsome hitting power came true as we plundered back-to-back team totals of 200/4 and 218/5 against RCB and Gujarat Titans. Both happened at the Wankhede Stadium, quite fitting for a venue known for being a cauldron of runs, eh? And credit for that is reserved for SKY, who proved to the world why he currently is the most dangerous T20 batter with scores of 83 and an unbeaten 103 off just 49 balls.

Match 13, LSGvMI: And here comes the Lie. We were brimming with confidence as we took the field at Lucknow on May 16. A win would have almost guaranteed qualification. But it quickly turned around as a Marcus Stoinis-led LSG gave us a jolt with a narrow five-run win. So that you know, we needed 11 off six balls, but Mohsin Khan was just too good with his yorkers Three wins on the trot wasn’t to be!

An ever-GREEN finish

Match 14, MIvSRH: They say, the best is always saved for the last. A certain six-foot tall 23-year-old boy from Perth was precisely that. Win or nothing - the equation was simple for MI as they took on Sunrisers Hyderabad on May 21. We put SRH to bat first, and they responded with a score of 200/5. All was not merry for the visitors, as our young star Akash Madhwal showed promise of a future India bowling star with figures of 4/37 - which included two outstanding yorkers that made the Paltan find the strength to regain their voice in the throats.

True to his art, Hitman set the stage for a comfortable chase with his 42nd IPL fifty. Along the way, he also completed 5,000 runs as an MI-ker and 11,000 runs in T20 cricket. When he passed the baton to Cameron Green, magic was brewing. Green instantly stamped his authority on the game, racing to 30 in 10 balls, 50 in 20 balls and 100 in 47 balls, thereby making the Wankhede audience go berserk. He carried us on his back into the play-offs, with a bit of help of course from Gujarat Titans a few hours later ;).

Paltan, MI-ssion IPL 2023 is still on! LSG are up on Wednesday (May 24), and once again, it’s down to that same word: BELIEVE.