Icon player and captain out of the team due to injury… acting captain banned for rest of the league after the SlapGate controversy… Placed on the bottom of the league table after four consecutive defeats (including a 10 wicket loss!). The costliest team of the league couldn’t have asked for a worse start!

But then came the turn-around! After Shaun Pollock was appointed as an acting captain, the team went on to defeat the Kolkata Knight Riders in their own den - Eden Gardens and humbled the then tournament favorites Delhi Daredevils and later the current favorites Rajasthan Royals at home.

What happened next ? Tendulkar came back into the team in a match against Chennai and it immediately had positive impact on Sanath Jayasuriya’s form. The Chennai SuperKings were outclassed by a superb century by Jayasuriya packed with vintage shots. Two days later, The Kolkata Knight Riders were thrashed in the shortest encounter of the IPL.

On Sunday, the team defeated The Deccan Chargers at Hyderabad, courtesy an all round contribution by Dwayne Bravo. This was the sixth consecutive victory for the Mumbai team. No other team has won six matches on the trot in the league so far. Having a healthy net-run-rate, the team is now just a win away from a semi-final berth.

Are we witnessing the scripting of a fairly-tale? In cricket sometimes a team that emerges out of nowhere goes on to win the tournament! Pakistan’s World Cup victory in 1992 and Australia’s victory in 1999 are one of the fine of fairy-tale victories in a major tournaments in the past.

Who should be credited for the success of Mumbai Indians in case they go on to win the IPL ? It’s none other than the person who got rid of the bad omen i.e. Harbhajan. In the event that they win the IPL dozens of bottles of champagne should be sent to Sreesanth first !