Finally, this year’s IPL has had a game that went to the final ball. After a seemingly endless surge of one-sided affairs, the Wankhede became the ground that produced the best game of the competition so far.
After halting Mumbai to a low score of 143—which would have been lower if it wasn’t for a late barrage from the Indians. Gujarat Lions’ batting also kept shaking, but Aaron Finch stood strong and saw them through.
In the end, his unbeaten knock of 67 made all the difference as he almost single-handedly won his team the game.
There were plenty of unforgettable moments throughout the match that don't fade away, quite like the Axe Signature range of body perfumes. Here are 5 of the best:
#1 Ex-Mumbai Indians player strikes
Mumbai Indians found their former player as their biggest nemesis today. Dhawal Kulkarni played many seasons with the Indians before switching allegiances to the Gujarat Lions.
And today, the Indians might have wondered for at least a while whether it was the right decision to let go of him.
He got the prized wickets of Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya as he completed his quota of 4 overs by giving away just 19 runs, which in turn restricted Mumbai to a relatively low score.
#2 The wise Tambe
As you get older, you get wiser—and there can’t be a better example of that than Pravin Tambe. He is not 45 years old, he is 45 years young as he continues to impress with his terrific bowling every now and then.
Suresh Raina might be regretting the decision to give him just 2 overs as a late surge from Mumbai Indians carried them to a rather safe score.
Nevertheless, in the 2 overs that he bowled, he got 12 runs and took 2 wickets to halt Mumbai Indians’ train.
#3 Tail-end surge
It seems like the tailenders saving their teams from embarrassment is the flavour of the week. Yesterday, it were the Delhi Daredevils’ tailenders and today the Mumbai Indians’ bowlers did the trick with the bat.
As they were at a risk of not being able to post a decent total, Krunal Pandya and Tim Southee did what the top and middle order batsmen should have done.
The two turned on the heat as they came up with a partnership of 42 runs in just 17 balls. Both of them played 11 balls each, with Southee scoring 25 and Pandya’s bat hitting 20 respectively.
#4 McClenaghan’s spell
With just 144 to defend, someone had to come up with the spell of his life—and Mitchell McClenaghan provided the goods.
The New Zealander was in fine form today as the Gujarat Lions couldn’t find a moment’s peace with the ball in his hands. He finished his spell with outstanding figures of 21 for 4 in his 4 overs.
His best over was his last one as with just 13 needing of 12 balls, he came and took two wickets and gave away only 2 runs in the process—giving Mumbai a solid chance to complete a great comeback victory. However, it went in vain because of.
#5 Aaron Finch’s brilliance
When everyone else were failing, Finch stood like a mountain in a tempest and powered his team to a victory. He came to open the innings and played a role similar to that of Gautam Gambhir in the first match of the day, while also hitting the winning runs off the last ball.
He batted for 54 balls and scored 67 runs which included a very important 9 runs in the final over to win the game for his team. The Australian closed the gap with Gambhir in the race for the orange cap to just 1 run, making it an interesting affair for the prestigious honour of being the top run-getter of the tournament.
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