Mumbai Indians dispelled all doubts of the detractors with their dominant performances and emerged winner in the IPL, for the fifth time. A report by Vijayhardik, exclusively for Different Truths.
The joke that always circulated before the start of an Indian Premier League (IPL) season, that IPL is a tournament where seven teams compete to play against Chennai Super Kings in the play-offs, can be put to rest.
In a season that threw up unexpected shocks and surprises Mumbai Indians put up a show that was expected of them. They began their campaign in their usual style. For the eighth time in a row, they lost their first match of the season. They lost to Chennai Super Kings by 5 wickets.
Their previous experience in the UAE in 2014 was something they would like to forget. Mumbai Indians had lost all five of their games, the last time they played in the UAE. Thus, there was a lot of speculation before the tournament began.
Their previous experience in the UAE in 2014 was something they would like to forget. Mumbai Indians had lost all five of their games, the last time they played in the UAE. Thus, there was a lot of speculation before the tournament began. People had doubts over the performance of Mumbai Indians in the current season.
But Mumbai proved their detractors wrong. The started putting in dominant performances. They chased downs runs with great efficacy and defended totals with aplomb. Though there were a couple of losses on the way, they were inflicted in super overs.
The first one they lost against Royal Challengers Bangalore where they almost chased down an improbable 90 runs in 5 overs. The other one was against Kings XI Punjab which was a double super over. It was the first time in IPL history that a super over was tied as well.
The first one they lost against Royal Challengers Bangalore where they almost chased down an improbable 90 runs in 5 overs. The other one was against Kings XI Punjab which was a double super over. It was the first time in IPL history that a super over was tied as well. The other losses came against Rajasthan Royals and Sunrisers Hyderabad.
A Ben Stokes special where he scored a brilliant century in a chase of 195 saw Rajasthan win by 8 wickets. Hyderabad and Mumbai were facing off in the final league match of the season. The fate of Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kolkata Knight Riders was to be decided by this match. A victory for Hyderabad meant they went through. A loss would result in Kolkata progressing through to the play-offs.
In the match, Mumbai rested its frontline bowlers Jasprit Bumrah and Trent Boult. The bowling performance of Mumbai can be adjudged later in the game. Mumbai batted first and was dominated by the Hyderabad bowling attack.
In the match, Mumbai rested its frontline bowlers Jasprit Bumrah and Trent Boult. The bowling performance of Mumbai can be adjudged later in the game. Mumbai batted first and was dominated by the Hyderabad bowling attack. They managed to score 149 runs. It was chased down by Hyderabad without losing a wicket. Brilliant half-centuries from Wriddhiman Saha and David Warner made the chase look easy.
With Hyderabad sealing the last spot in the play-offs, the first qualifier was between Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals. A superlative batting performance by Mumbai saw Delhi being batted out of the game. They faltered in their chase.
The advantage of ending up in the top two helped Delhi get a second chance in the second qualifier. They faced off against a spirited Hyderabad unit that went down fighting in the second qualifier. Setting up a final clash against Mumbai Indians in a repeat of the first qualifier.
The final match between Mumbai and Delhi was one that people were expecting to be a mouth-watering clash. But Delhi got off to a disastrous start. They lost Marcus Stoinis, Ajinkya Rahane and Shikhar Dhawan in the powerplay.
The final match between Mumbai and Delhi was one that people were expecting to be a mouth-watering clash. But Delhi got off to a disastrous start. They lost Marcus Stoinis, Ajinkya Rahane and Shikhar Dhawan in the powerplay. With just 22 runs on the board. It seemed Mumbai would run through Delhi.
A partnership between captain Shreyas Iyer and southpaw Rishabh Pant propped up their score. Though Pant fell soon after his half-century and Shreyas Iyer controlled the innings and Delhi reached a score of 156.
Scores which are not too low or too high are tricky to chase down. But Mumbai Indians got off to a great start due to their openers Rohit Sharma and Quinton de Kock.
Scores which are not too low or too high are tricky to chase down. But Mumbai Indians got off to a great start due to their openers Rohit Sharma and Quinton de Kock. They were running away with the match and seemed the chase would be over soon. Delhi came up with wickets at regular intervals from there on, but it was too late. Mumbai Indians were already on the doorstep of victory.
The late flourish of a couple of wickets did reduce the victory margin of wickets but Mumbai Indians reached home with 5 wickets to spare. The defending champions Mumbai Indians completed a successful title defence and lifted the trophy for the fifth time!
Photos sourced by the author
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