Mumbai Indians beat Chennai Super Kings by 1 run in the 2019 Indian Premier League (IPL) final at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on Sunday. Lasith Malinga bowled a brilliant final over to win us a last ball thriller after some sensational bowling by Jasprit Bumrah (2 for 14) and an important 41* by Kieron Pollard in the first innings of the final in the game.
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Chasing 150 to win, CSK's Faf du Plessis decided to take the attack to the MI bowlers and hit a few boundaries as well as a six before Krunal Pandya got him stumped thanks to some smart bowling. Shane Watson continued with Chennai’s onslaught and got a hold of Lasith Malinga in the sixth over to ensure CSK finished the powerplay at 53.
Just when it looked like Chennai were going to chase down the target comfortably, Rahul Chahar trapped Suresh Raina in front of the stumps to give us some hope. Jasprit Bumrah then bowled a well-directed bouncer in the very next over to get rid of Ambati Rayudu and make things interesting.
Chennai’s skipper MS Dhoni came to the crease next, but a run out by Ishan Kishan meant that he had to return to the hut in the 13th over. MI could have had Watson’s wicket as well in the subsequent over, but unfortunately Chahar couldn’t hold on to a catch after the Australian had struck the ball with tremendous power.
The Australian made the most of his chance and hit three boundaries in the 16th over to score his half century. With CSK requiring 42 runs from the last four overs for the win, Watson kept going after our bowlers and could have been out in the 17th over, if Chahar had successfully managed to catch a skier. Chahar’s drop proved to be costly as Watson went on to hit three maximums in the following over to make it 18 required from 12.
Bumrah though dismissed Dwayne Bravo to make it a nervy finish. Watson was subsequently run-out in the final over of the contest with four needed from two balls and the tension was at fever-pitch. New batsman Shardul Thakur got two runs off the penultimate delivery, but a slower-ball from Malinga trapped him in front of the wickets and won us the IPL with the final ball of the tournament.
Earlier in the evening, Rohit Sharma and Quinton de Kock got our innings underway with great purpose and intent. The duo made their presence felt early on by combining to hit CSK’s bowlers for five sixes within the first five overs. However, both batsmen fell with 45 runs on the scoreboard as the momentum shifted in Chennai’s favour.
The loss of Rohit and de Kock in quick succession meant that two new batsmen Suryakumar Yadav and Kishan had to bide their time in the middle before taking the attack to Chennai’s bowlers. They put on 37 together before Suryakumar was dismissed by Imran Tahir and replaced by Krunal, whose stay at the crease lasted just seven balls.
Kishan was next to return to the dugout after top-edging a delivery from Tahir in the 15th over. His dismissal meant that Kieron Pollard and Hardik Pandya – our power-hitters – would have to ensure a strong finish in the final five overs.
CSK’s bowlers though executed their plans very well at the death and made it difficult for our batsmen to have much of an impact. Hardik did hit a six but could only score 16 from 10 balls before perishing, while Pollard managed to hit a few boundaries and sixes towards the end as MI finished with 149 runs on the board.
Brief Scores: Mumbai Indians 149/8 (Kieron Pollard 41, Quinton de Kock 29, Deepak Chahar 3-26, Imran Tahir 2-23) beat Chennai Super Kings 148/7 (Shane Watson 80, Faf du Plessis 26, Jasprit Bumrah 2-14, Rahul Chahar 1-14) by 1 run.
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