The IPL seems a long way from the cricket we play. But it is the same game with the same size pitch, balls and stumps.

It's just the players are a bit better.

So there is bound to be lessons guys like Dhoni, Malinga, Pollard and Morkel can teach us. Even if we may never play at Eden Gardens in front of 60,000.

Here are 5 universal things that I think we can take into our next game, be it a friendly or a vital final:

1. It's not a batsman's game

There is an impression that bowlers are just cannon-fodder for the 8-an-over batters with giant bats. Especially in T20 where bowling a team out is rare, the value of a wicket is much lower.

Tell that to Mumbai who were 52-4 after 10 overs in the final. They clawed back to 148, which still wasn't enough, especially against a stellar Chennai batting line up.

In fact, maybe it was too stellar.

With so many powerful batters, it becomes easy for each player to assume someone else is bound to do it. 39-6 tells a story about the value of wickets.

Make sure you know yours.

2. You still need your best batters in early

Chennai had built their success on a rather old-fasioned approach: Bide your time at the top, keep wickets in hand and explode at the end. Raina, Hussey and Badrinath are specialists at keeping it ticking.

It worked well because the guy usually at the end is the finisher MS Dhoni.

It failed in the final because wickets fell too quickly, but you could also argue that sending Dhoni, the best one day man playing today, in at 7 left him with not enough partners.

it might be a cliché to say, but it's still true even in this world of detailed computer analysis; your best batsmen need to bat high enough in the order to give them time and space to win the game. Dhoni left it too late

3. Good bouncers work

Bouncers are tough to bowl. You need pace and you need accuracy, or you can end up in the bleachers. But used sparingly, it disturbs a batter in any format.

If you, or someone in your team, can bowl bouncers then it's vital to use them. Mumbai took key wickets with bouncers, one at backward short leg (yes, in T20).

The bouncer takes pace, practice and the right wicket. So don't enter it lightly, but if you can get it up to the throat you absolutely should.

4. Yorkers still work

There is no surprise that the yorker is still the number one variation. We once said that if you can hit 6 yorkers an over you can write your own cheque and it's still true.

Malinga - king of the yorker - sent Hussey back for a duck in the first over and pulled the game swingometer back towards Mumbai. Chennai never really recovered.

"Momentum" is certainly an overused word, but in a match there are moments where the game balance shifts and you can gain a psychological advantage. Those moments are very likely to be made from a yorker.

If you only have one variation, spear it in at the toes.

5. Practice more when you are winning

At PitchVision Academy, we tend to ignore player comments in the press. They are cliché-ridden nonsense 99% of the time. The facts come on the field. However, a comment from Tendulkar after the game was interesting:

"We have worked hard together. There were optional practice days because of travelling and the entire team would come and practice."

Now, saying you train hard is certainly not a new idea, but what was interesting (if it's true) is that even though Mumbai were winning games, they stepped up their training.

For most teams, it's the opposite way around, with increasing desperation for results leading to more "naughty boy nets".

But when you are going well, high on confidence and feeling in form, you have to space to improve even further. You can learn extra variation or shot.

Take advantage of your purple patch and have extra training. You never know how good you might get.

You may even win your version of the IPL!