Mumbai Indians became the first team to win three IPL titles after beating Rising Pune Supergiant by one run in the final game.
Mumbai Indians won their third Indian Premier League title after they beat Rising Pune Supergiant by one run on Sunday in the final. Mitchell Johnson bowled the decisive final over that won them the match. Needing 13 to win off the 20th over, Johnson took two and a run-out off the last ball confirmed Mumbai’s win. While Johnson’s over was the crunch moment, there were a few other reasons for MI’s remarkable win.
After winning the toss Rohit Sharma chose to bat first on a slow Hyderabad wicket. His decision proved right as the pitch became slower as the match progressed and batting became difficult. Chasing 130 to win, RPS were in the hunt until the last over when Mitchell Johnson bowled tightly and defended 11 of the last over.
MI have been in incredible form this season and they continued to show that in the finals. While the batting has been their strong point, it was the bowlers who put up a spirited performance to guide MI to a victory. Mitchell Johnson was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 3/26. He was ably supported by Jasprit Bumrah.
Meanwhile, the shot selection from some of the Pune batsman left a lot to be desired. Only Steve Smith stood out with a gritty 51 from 50 balls which featured two fours and two sixes. None of the other batsmen gave him company in the middle and frequent wickets only increased the pressure on his side.
While Pune did not lose wickets at regular intervals, what they failed to do was take the attack to the opposition. None of the batsmen took the attack to the bowlers and the average strike of the batters hovered around 100.
The game still seemed in favour of RPS who needed only seven to win from three balls but Johnson’s skills ensured that not more than three came off.
Dan Christian was also run out off the last ball, putting Mumbai Indians in the driving seat.
With the win, Rohit Sharma became the most successful IPL captain, who led his side to the third title in the last ten years.
The win was indeed special for Rohit as well as MI, and their joy is evident from the celebratory video of the team.
Eventually, the target of 130 proved to be one too many for Mumbai Indians and the Rohit Sharma-led team won the trophy for the 3rd time.
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