Press Trust of India
Kolkata May 24: In a repeat of the 2013 summit clash, Mumbai Indians (MI) defeated Chennai Super Kings (CSK) by 41 runs in the IPL-VIII final here Sunday to lift the coveted trophy.
Batting first MI, after being put into bat by CSK skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, scored 202 for the loss five wickets and then restricted the opposition to 161 for eight to win the final by a canter. Aggressive batting coupled with some brilliant fielding and judicious bowling enable MI script their second IPL triumph. It was indeed a remarkable turnaround for a team that had lost their first four matches on the trot.
In spite of suffering an early jolt when they lost Parthiv Patel to the fifth ball of the innings, MI, with the ‘Dil Dhadakne Do’ trio Ranveer Singh, Farhan Akhtar and Anil Kappor, cheering for them, hit back with a blistering partnership of 119 runs between Lendl Simmons (68, 45b, 8×4, 3×6) and skipper Rohit Sharma (50, 26b, 6×4, 2×6) for the second wicket.
After their departure, Kieron Pollard (36, 18b, 2×4, 3×6) and Ambati Rayudu (36 n o, 24b, 3×6) put on 71 runs in 35 balls to take MI past the 200-run mark.
It was Rohit who showed the way when he launched into Mohit Sharma in the second over of the innings hitting the CSK pacer for 14 runs including an uppercut six over third man. MI scored 61 runs in the power play with Simmons hitting Ravindra Jadeja to all parts of the park to get 14 runs in over number six.
After their departures, Pollard got into the act. Ashish Nehra, who had bowled so well in the tournament, faced the harsh side of cricket as Pollard hit him for 22 runs in the 17th over including three sixes.
Chasing a 200-plus victory target in any final is difficult, simply because of a couple of less expensive overs can easily take the required run rate over the moon. And that is what happened. With MI conceding only 15 runs in their first three overs, CSK were always staring at an asking rate of 12-plus from early on.
Dwayne Smith (57, 48b, 9×4, 1×6) soldiered on, but this was a day when he needed to score faster. Smith played 32 dot balls, a crime, considering the target CSK were chasing. Suresh Raina (28, 19b, 3×4, 1×6) and Dhoni (18, 13b, 1×4, 1×6) tried their best, but couldn’t do much.
Lasith Malinga (2/25), Mitchell McClenaghan (3/25) and Harbhajan Singh (2/34) chipped away with wickets at regular intervals to fashion an emphatic victory for Mumbai.
Eden Gardens has always been lucky for Rohit. Sunday was no exception. It turned out to be a bad ‘jamaishasthi’ for Kolkata’s ‘jamai’ Dhoni.
Brief scores: MI 202 for 5 (Lendl Simmons 68, Rohit Sharma 50, Dwayne Bravo 2/36) beat CSK 161 for 8(Dwayne Smith 57, Mitch McClenaghan 3/25, Lasith Malinga 2/25, Harbhajan Singh 2/34) by 41 runs.
