The grand finale of IPL 2017 came down to the wire and in a nerve-wracking finish, Mumbai Indias snatched the win and emerged champions by outsmarting the Rising Pune Supergiant by 1 run.
Steven Smith held fort once again and anchored the chase with precision and towards the end of the chase unleashed few hefty blows but then he got out at a critical juncture and this shifted the momentum once again back to the Mumbai Indians.
Chasing a moderate target of 130, Pune looked in control of proceedings but the Mumbai Indians bowlers never threw in the towel and then some accurate death bowling by Malinga, Bumrah, and Mitchell Johnson sealed the deal for Mumbai.
Earlier, Rohit won the toss and elected to bat but the batsmen never got going on a slow and sluggish surface and barring Krunal Pandya none of the other batsmen looked set on the pitch.
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.
Also read: IPL 2017: Team of the tournament
Reactions from the captains:
Rohit Sharma: "I was quite nervous, to be honest, but the guys pulled off a great game. To defend 130 was a great effort. To defend 130 was a great effort. I am very happy. We never needed to change our plan. If you take one wicket, two, three could come. We discussed that. We bowled great variations. A lot of credit to the bowling unit. When you have bowlers like Bumrah and Malinga, the belief is always there. Our spinners too, throughout the season, have been bowling well. This final will be special for me because of the way the team fought."
Steven Smith: "It's a hard one to swallow. I am proud of the way the boys played throughout the season. A lot of credit should go to Mumbai as well. 130 was an under-par score, but they fought well. They bowled beautifully. I thought Johnson was magnificent. Bumrah and Malinga were very good as well. It's a wonderful tournament to be part of. I would like to thank the RPS team management. It is always nice when you are winning and getting to the final, but it's a bit disappointing to lose in the final."
Here are the reactions from the cricketing globe:
Sachin Tendulkar: Simply amazing. The first half wasn't great for us. We got together during the break and Mahela gave a nice speech. We believed that we could pull this off. The fielding was great under pressure. I have always believed in the saying, once a champion, always a champion. He (Malinga) has done well for us for a number of years. I was so sure that he was going to do something great tonight. He might not have had a great season, but he is one guy who can change it in one over.
Mitch McClenaghan: I could not sit still. Bumrah. you guys have to realize what a superstar is going to be. Malinga as well was brilliant.
Shane Bond: It was exciting and heart-wrenching all at the same time. We spoke yesterday about the leaders stepping on the field. When the pressure came on, all the leaders stepped up. Just a brilliant young bowler isn't he. He's been in pressure situations time and again and at 23, he keeps stepping up.
Robin Singh: Bumrah bowled a superb spell as well as Malinga. The outfield was slow too. Once we got Smith and MS of course, we got the game.
Vinay Kumar: Yeah it is really great. I got only game to play. We discussed all our plans. We are very happy.
Ambati Rayudu: I couldn't contribute much with the bat, but the catch will remain with me (smiles). The pitch was very surprising (referring to the slowness) It's not even in the centre wicket.
Parthiv Patel: I was batting really well in this season. Unfortunately, I got out early today. I thought before the innings started. They took the game too deep. Our spinners did really well. We played good cricket throughout the tournament. The catch that Rayudu took turned the game around for us. at the end the result matters.
Nitish Rana: Great experience. Just hope to carry this in the Ranji Trophy. This is my third IPL and my second trophy, can't get better than that
Karn Sharma: The team backed me a lot and I am happy that I performed well. We had a plan of not giving boundaries to them.
Lendl Simmons: I thought everyone was really calm. the scoreboard pressure got to them. We bowled well, we fielded well and came out victorious. I think we have a lot of match-winners in out team. One of us has put up their hand up to do the job. Today it was Krunal.
Jasprit Bumrah: The ball was reversing, we needed a wicket at that time. Mahi bhai's wicket was the crucial wicket because he can be dangerous in these situations. After the first innings, we always wanted to fight because we were short on runs. Our bowling effort was brilliant. After every over we were backing each other that we can still make it.
Kieron Pollard: We have been playing team cricket. We showed the character. Well played to Krunal for the way he batted to keep us in the game.
Krunal Pandya: I just wanted to play 20 overs when wickets were falling at the other end. if I am there till the 19th or 20th over, I can get some big shots.
Hardik Pandya: I really felt the game that we won against Delhi. That gave us belief because we had played like champions.
The other reactions from in and around the world:
S Badrinath
David Warner
Michael Clarke
Kevin Pietersen
Michael Vaughan
Anjum Chopra
RP Singh
Dale Steyn
Harsha Bhogle
Scott Styris
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