IPL 2019: 3 reasons why CSK lost the final

Lasith Malinga’s final over heroics helped Mumbai Indians clinch their fourth Indian Premier League (IPL) title on the last ball, over Chennai Super Kings at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad. This was Chennai’s fifth loss in IPL finals and third against Mumbai.

The final started with a psychological advantage for Mumbai; they had already beaten Chennai thrice in IPL 2019. But this advantage was soon nullified when the bowling duo of Shardul Thakur and Deepak Chahar sent back the Mumbai openers even before the completion of the power play.

The rest of the Chennai bowlers then helped the team get back into the game, and they restricted Mumbai to 149 after Kieron Pollard played an important cameo.

However, things didn't go according to plan in the chase, and CSK fell short despite looking like guaranteed winners at one stage. What went wrong for them? Here's a look at three reasons why they lost the final:

1. Ravindra Jadeja not bowling his full quota

Ravindra Jadeja is an integral part of Chennai’s bowling unit, and is known to provide breakthroughs against the run of play. But yesterday Jadeja only bowled two overs despite having an economy of 6 runs per over.

With the wicket being on the slow side, CSK would have been well-served to utilize all of their spin options. If Jadeja would have bowled his full quota, MI's total might have been even smaller than it was.

2. MS Dhoni's controversial dismissal

The controversial run out of MS Dhoni was like insult to injury for CSK. During the replay it seemed that the bail wasn’t completely dislodged by the time Dhoni's bat was back in the crease, and yet he was still given out.

The benefit of doubt didn't go to the batsman in this case, and the dramatic decision completely changed the course of the match.

3. Shane Watson's unfortunate run out

After playing a spectacularly valiant knock, Shane Watson had brought the game within CSK's hands. Whacking Krunal Pandya in the 18th over for three sixes had seemingly shattered the hopes of the Mumbai Indians players.

Before Watson got out, Chennai needed 5 runs from 3 balls. On the 4th ball, the Aussie guided the ball between the point and third man area, and to most people it looked like a clear double.

But Watson hesitated before running the second; was it because of his injury? He fell short of the crease and was run out, and CSK never recovered from that.