Mumbai sing at Eden again
Mumbai Indians' love affair with Eden Gardens continued as they clinched their second IPL title with a crushing 41-run win over Chennai Super Kings in a lop-sided final at Kolkata last night.
It was on this very ground Mumbai had lifted their first IPL in 2013, defeating the same rivals. Chennai have now lost four finals (2008, 2012, 2013, 2015) in six appearances.
Mumbai posted an imposing 202 for five with skipper Rohit Sharma (50) and Lendl Simmons (68) setting the tone, putting up 119 runs off just 67 balls for the second wicket after being invited in to bat.
The Mumbai captain, who has an ODI world record of 264 and also a debut Test hundred at the Eden Gardens, yet again exploded at his favourite venue, hitting six fours and two sixes for his 25-ball fifty.
Sharma drove Dwayne Bravo for a boundary to notch his fifty but only to be dismissed softly in the next ball hitting straight to Jadeja at long-on. Such agonising was the partnership for CSK that Dhoni and Co huddled soon after Sharma's dismissal and skipper opted part-timer Dwyane Smith to bowl the next over. Dhoni's magic worked straightway as Simmons followed suit after being bowled in Smith's first ball -- a slow yorker that he misjudged -- to make them 120/3 in 12.1 overs. The twin blow however proved to be too little too late as Rayudu and Pollard propelled to a winning total.
Hard-hitting West Indies batsman Kieron Pollard (36) provided the late flourish in the company with Ambati Rayudu (36 not out) in an innings the run-rate hardly dropped below in despite the early dismissal of Parthiv Patel.
Mumbai bowlers complimented the good work of the batsmen as they took the fizz out of the Chennai's chase with a disciplined effort.
They straitjacketed the Chennai batsmen, restricting them to 161 for eight as seasoned spinner Harbhajan Singh took key wickets of Dwayne Smith (57) and Suresh Raina (28) in two overs. Kiwi pace-man Mitchell McClenaghan took three wickets while Sri Lankan Lasith Malinga claimed two including the prized scalp of MS Dhoni.
Chasing the huge target, CSK opted to have it easy and concentrated on building a platform after losing Michael Hussey (4) early. Smith and Raina bided their time and looked to consolidate but it meant that they managed only 31 runs from the first six overs. The required run-rate kept on going up and shot past 13 at the midway mark.
Smith completed his half-century in 45 balls but only to be trapped LBW by Harbhajan in his penultimate over. Having made a grand comeback into the Bangladesh-bound Test side, Harbhajan completed his spell in style dismissing Raina.
SCORES IN BRIEF
MUMBAI INDIANS: 202 for 5 (Simmons 68, Rohit 50, Bravo 2-36)
CHENNAI SUPER KINGS: 161 for 8 (Smith 57, McClenaghan 3-25, Harbhajan 2-34)
Result: Mumbai won the final by 41 runs
Player-of-the-final: Rohit Sharma
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