In two days, the knockouts of the ICC World Cup would begin. mumbaiindians.com takes a look at how the Mumbai Indians have fared in the last week of the league stage.

Rohit Sharma

The Mumbai Indians captain is no stranger to enter record books with his willow-wielding, especially in the shorter formats of the game. He raised his maiden World Cup record last week as he and Shikhar Dhawan registered India’s highest opening partnership in all World Cups. Their partnership of 174, coming off just 23.2 overs, was raised after Ireland had set India a respectable target of 260. Rohit scored a brisk 64 runs off just 66 balls, and was dismissed just as he was set to emulate Shikhar Dhawan’s hundred. Four days later, Rohit started off in the same fashion while chasing a stiffer target of 289 against Zimbabwe. But, a mistimed pull shot off Tinashe Panyangara when he was on 16, resulted in a simple catch to Sikandar Raza at covers.

Corey Anderson

The all-rounder has emerged as one of the most reliable bowlers in the middle and death overs and a finisher with the bat. All his virtues came to the fore during the last week as he played a crucial role in New Zealand, maintaining a clean slate through the league stage. Over the last weekend, Anderson picked two crucial wickets to wind up the Afghanistan innings. He first dismissed half-centurion Samiullah Shenwari, before picking the last wicket of Hamid Hassan. And then, fittingly scored the winning runs; a boundary off Afghanistan skipper Mohammad Nabi. Two days ago, Anderson was at it again. He first saw the back of two of Bangladesh’s most successful batsmen, Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim who were dismissed in the batting Powerplay. And then, with New Zealand having their backs to the wall, Anderson revived their innings with a cameo of 26-ball 39. Though he perished with the Kiwis requiring 20 runs to win, he had shifted the momentum in his team’s favour and Daniel Vettori and Tim Southee finished off the game comfortably.

Lasith Malinga

The tearaway fast bowler with an unusual slinging action has proven to be one of the most bowlers to go after. That trait came to the fore during Sri Lanka’s penultimate group game against Australia. With the Australian middle order led by Glenn Maxwell and Shane Watson tonking the Lankan bowlers at will, Australia put on a gargantuan 376 for 9 on board. However, they couldn’t even get a run off each of Malinga’s 60 balls, with the bowler going for 59 runs off his 10 overs. What’s more important, he saw the back of David Warner early on and came back to dismiss captain Michael Clarke. He continued the miserly form against Scotland, picking two wickets for just 29 runs off nine overs.

Lendl Simmons

With a must-win match against United Arab Emirates coming up, the West Indies were hoping for Simmons to come to their rescue yet again. Their wish was fulfilled, as the top order sans Chris Gayle clicked and Simmons didn’t need to take guard in a small chase. The in-form batsman would now be hoping to showcase his skills against New Zealand in the quarterfinal this week.

Mitchell McClenaghan

The burly left-handed pace bowler had been waiting patiently for almost a month since the tournament began. With the co-hosts New Zealand, who were firing on all cylinders with a settled eleven, McClenaghan could only keep himself match-fit to get a chance in his team’s last league game; as Adam Milne was ruled out. But the rustiness and lack of match practice showed as McClenaghan was taken for 68 runs off his eight overs, bearing the brunt of centurion Mahmudullah.

Ambati Rayudu

When India started their two-match stint in New Zealand, Rayudu knew he had to wait for his chance, at least for the game against Ireland. Once India were assured of a finish at the top of the group, Rayudu would have hoped to make his World Cup debut in their last league game against Zimbabwe. But with the team management deciding against resting one of their top six, Rayudu had no choice but to wait for an opportunity.

Aaron Finch

The Australian has been unable to replicate the same form he displayed in the tournament opener when he became the first centurion of the World Cup. In both of Australia’s last two league games, against Sri Lanka and Scotland, Finch got off the blocks quickly. But just as he appeared to be set for a long haul, Flinch had to start the long way back to the dressing room. Against Sri Lanka, he left his crease too early to leggie Seekuge Prasanna who smartly slid the ball down the leg side for Kumar Sangakkara to flip the bails off. Against Scotland, he had raced to 20 off 10 but then had to return to the pavilion after being smartly caught at covers.

Josh Hazlewood

With the Australian team management preferring to try out all the options, young Hazlewood had no choice but to warm the bench in his team’s last two league outings. He would be hoping to be called up for his team’s quarterfinal against Pakistan next week.