New Delhi:
Mumbai Indians played their heart out and fought like cornered tigers to script history by becoming the first ever team to win three Indian Premier League titles on Sunday night. They defeated their nemesis Rising Pune Supergiant by 1 run in a thrilling final which went to the climax and kept cricket fanatics on their toes till the last delivery.
Krunal Pandya won the Man-of-the match award for his belligerent 47 runs of 36 balls which powered his team to a competitive total. Whereas wickets kept falling around him, he kept one end intact to pile on some much needed runs.
The heart-wrenching final saw the old warhorse Mitchell Johnson bowl his heart out as he scalped two wickets off the last over and 3 wickets overall. Defending a total of 129 runs, he took the crucial wickets of Pune skipper Steven Smith and Manoj Tiwari to put pressure back onto the Pune line-up.
Mumbai pace attack consisting of Lasith Malinga, Jasprit Bumrah and Johnson bowled some exceptionally brilliant death overs to help their team to a nail-biting victory.
LEGENDS! #CricketMeriJaan #IPLfinal pic.twitter.com/BcgBqyGU5B
— Mumbai Indians (@mipaltan) May 21, 2017
Bumrah gobbled up the prized scalp of MS Dhoni when the latter seemed intent to repeate the heroics of the Qualifiers. But Mumbai played like true champions and upped the ante. They maintained the pressure and despite a half-century from Steven Smith and a good knock from Rahane, Pune couldn't cross the finish line.
Earlier, Pune had choked the Mumbai Indians fabled batting line up while restricting them to a paltry score of 129 runs. The clash between the two sides was rightfully dubbed as the 'Maharashtra Derby' by fans across the IPL fraternity.
Seamer Jaydev Unadkat and spinner Adam Zampa had used the slow pitch to their advantage as they didn't let the vaunted MI batting line up open their arms. Unadkat bowled with fire while picking two wickets and taking his tally to 24 wickets in the tournament. He finished second in the list of wicket takers after senior Indian pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
While Rising Pune Supergiant have been the nemesis of Mumbai Indians this season, beating them on all three occasions, Mumbai extracted sweet revenge against their opponents by winning the match that matters the most, the grand finale.
This edition of the IPL saw some great power hitting, majestic bowling efforts, fascinating run chases and thrilling finishes. Although Pune lost the final, their champion player Ben Stokes won the 'Most valuable player award' of the tournament.
CHAMPIONS! Ever single one of you! ðŸ†ðŸ‘#CricketMeriJaan #IPLfinal #BELI3VE pic.twitter.com/L5ZP8NqdOp
— Mumbai Indians (@mipaltan) May 21, 2017
Mumbai Indians had yet another stellar season topping the league table by winning 10 out of their 14 games. With 20 points in their kitty, Mumbai Indians had sailed into the play-offs as the Number One qualifier.
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Mumbai were given a little bit of a wake up call, losing their qualifier to Rising Pune Supergiants but recovered strongly to beat Kolkata Knight Riders in the second qualifier to make it to their fourth IPL finals.
Here is a look at why Mumbai Indians are considered one of the powerhouses of IPL even since the inception of the league.
Winner of three IPL titles
Mumbai is the only team to win the coveted trophy three times. They won it in 2013, 2015 and now in 2017 too.
Seven Play-off Appearances
Mumbai Indians have arguably been the most consistent side in the IPL history making it to the playoffs for the 7th time in the 10 seasons
Won 2 Champions League T20 Titles
Mumbai Indians are the only team besides Chennai SuperKings to have won the Champions League T20 title twice. They annexed the crown in 2011 and 2013.
Most IPL Matches won - 91
Mumbai Indians have won the most matches in the IPL history. The Blue Brigade are the runaway leaders with 91 wins under their belt.
