CHENNAI: There is this concept of the Division of Labour in economics. Simply put, division of labour combines specialization and the partition of a complex production task into several, or many, sub-tasks. It lies at the core of modern economic thinking. Which is why, the first chapter of The Wealth of Nations, the magnum opus written by the father of modern economics Adam Smith, explains this concept in detail.
Just before the Industrial Revolution could peak, Smith firmly believed that this very concept would help with a substantial increase in productivity. That's enough economics for the day, but the core of what the Scotsman said in 1776 still feels true about the Mumbai Indians of 2024.
Yes, they are an entity. One of the most successful ones in the Indian Premier League and they were in desperate need of producing 'goods'. The season did not start particularly well for them under their new captain. In their first match of the season, halfway through, they looked clueless against Gujarat Titans. Sunrisers Hyderabad were ruthless in their pursuit of the highest-ever team score.
Playing in front of the home crowd in Wankhede could have been a relief, but Trent Boult and Riyan Parag quickly turned that into despair. The part of the discourse was that 'Well, that is how Mumbai function'. They are the slow-starters and they catch up eventually. However, this time around, it felt like that logic was falling flat on its face. As the internet slang goes, vibes were not vibing and Mumbai were desperately in need of a win. A real one, not the moral kind.
So when Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan walked into bat in hot and humid conditions at Wankhede, the hope was to see the old Mumbai Indians. The side that believed in giving space for every individual to play their role to their fullest capacity and then building the team's success on that. Bringing the old MI back who believed in the 'division of labour'. That is exactly what happened on Sunday evening and it started with the former captain Rohit.
His strength has always been to give a brisk start to whichever side he is playing for. That's what he did. Two boundaries against Ishant Sharma, followed by two gorgeous-looking pull shots and sheer domination of Lalit Yadav were all indications of Rohit doing his task. With Kishan by his side, the opening partnership of 80 gave more than enough for the rest to build on.
Even when Suryakumar Yadav could not make any impact, everyone else kept doing their tasks. Kishan batted with a strike rate of 182 and never let the run rate fall below 10. With quick wickets falling around him and still seven overs to go, captain Hardik Pandya chose consolidation over high hitting, knowing fully well the hitting capabilities of Tim David, who was batting at the other end, and Romario Shepherd, who was in waiting. At this part of the innings, the aim was to feed David with the strike, so he could do what he does best — hitting boundaries. Again, that is exactly what David did.
Once Pandya fell after 39 off 33 and 13 balls remaining in the innings, Romario Shepherd came in to provide the finishing touches. The difference between a good score and one where the batting side takes the game a little further away was dependent on the last two overs. Shepherd's task was to see ball and hit ball. 32 runs in the final over bowled by Anrich Nortje did exactly that. Just like Sharma, Kishan and David before him, Shepherd played his part. Productivity maximisation achieved as MI posted 234/5.
However, the match was not over and the same bowling attack that gave away 277 runs a few days ago, had to make sure they kept things under control. That is where Jasprit Bumrah came in. On the pitch where every bowler who bowled more than two overs gave away at least five boundaries, he was the true point of difference. His 11 dot balls and economy of 5.5 runs per over said enough.
He was not completely unplayable in his spells, but it was his efforts that stood between Delhi and chasing down the total of 235. And if it wasn't enough, his toe-crushing yorker to dismiss Shaw was like watching a Jacques-Louis David painting coming to life. Whatever hopes Delhi had in Tristan Stubbs taking them over the line were slashed when Bumrah gave away just eight runs from the 17th over, to push the required run rate past 25 for the last two. Bumrah did what Bumrah does.
Mumbai Indians were always the side that worked on this principle of division of labour that developed into a specialisation of sorts for the players, who knew what their role was. Till now, in this season, the execution of this theory was not on the show. On Sunday, it all worked out for them. That win finally moved them from the bottom of the table to the eighth position, and there was a collective sigh of relief at the Wankhede after the final over was bowled.
One doesn't know if the father of modern economics was a big fan of cricket or not. Given he was the Scotsman, one could say, probably not. But even he would be proud of this execution from Mumbai Indians Sunday.
Brief scores: MI 234/5 in 20 ovs (Rohit 49, David 45 n.o, Shepherd 39 n.o) bt DC 205/8 in 20 ovs (Stubbs 71 n.o, Shaw 66; Bumrah 2/22).