Mumbai Indians Clinch Second IPL Title With Stunning Victory Over CSK In IPL 2015
Mumbai Indians secured their second Indian Premier League (IPL) title 2015 over Chennai Super Kings (CSK) with an extraordinary comeback from a dismal start to the tournament.
They went from being at the bottom of the standings for the first few weeks to winning the championship match versus Chennai Super Kings.
Chennai Super Kings 161 for 8 (Smith 57, McClenaghan 3-25, Harbhajan 2-34) lost to Mumbai Indians 202 for 5 (Simmons 68, Rohit 50, Bravo 2-36) by 41 runs.
After being bottom of the table for the first two weeks of the competition, the Mumbai Indians pulled off one of the most incredible comebacks in the eight-year history of the Indian Premier League to win the championship.
The final proved to be one of the easier matches after an unrestrained early assault by Rohit Sharma and Lendl Simmons, both of whom hit half-centuries, stunned Chennai Super Kings, seasoned IPL finals players, into submission. The final was a rematch of their 2013 triumph at the same venue against the same opposition. Not even a smell was offered to the Super Kings.
It was an interesting move by MS Dhoni to bowl first on a patchy Eden Gardens pitch, not because he might have overcompensated for the presence of dew later on, but because it was a change from the Super Kings’ two previous title winning strategies of batting first, scoring big, then applying pressure.
The opening exchanges were flawless; Faf du Plessis superbly removed Parthiv Patel, and Ashish Nehra made sure that just one wicket fell in the first over. However, that was the last time the ball was pursued by the Super Kings as Rohit ripped through the second over, hitting Mohit Sharma for sixteen.
After stepping too far once, R Ashwin—who was brought on in the fourth over—paid the price with a 12-run over. Simmons hit Jadeja for 14 runs after he was bowled during the Powerplay, bringing the total number of runs scored from the first six overs to 61. Simmons caught up to Rohit after the latter had started the innings with a barrage of boundaries in the first three overs. Simmons had played all but one ball in the subsequent three overs.
The little outfield would not be impacted by the field’s spreading. In the tenth over, Simmons reached his sixth half-century of the season by hogging the bulk of strikes and continuing to locate boundaries.
The run-rate did not appear to be slowing down, but Dhoni was still able to contain Dwayne Bravo, the tournament’s top wicket-taker. Unfortunately, Bravo broke the hazardous partnership in his opening over, which came at the 12th of the innings. By then, Rohit had already completed his half-century off of just 24 balls, and the run-rate was close to 10.
A passionate speech delivered by Dhoni during the team meeting following Rohit’s removal had a momentary impact: Dwayne Smith dismissed Simmons with his opening ball of the tournament, and 30 runs were scored in four overs. However, when Kieron Pollard and Ambati Rayudu warmed up for 16 overs, the Mumbai Indians looked poised to explode at 150.
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Pollard hit Nehra for three sixes and a four in the 17th over, but Nehra took the brunt of the blow, and Mumbai Indians finished with just the second-highest total in IPL final history.
Super Kings were in need of an early boost, but it never materialized. Smith found it difficult to timing the ball, as he had all season. Although he did score his second half-century of the season, Super Kings required more from him than a 118 strike rate. After removing Raina, Harbhajan Singh removed Smith within the next over. Malinga also scored, and Mitchell McClenaghan claimed three. The Super Kings are now in their fifth year of not having won a championship.
Pollard On The Mumbai’s Journey In 2015 IPL
After starting the season with four straight losses, Mumbai Indians defeated Chennai Super Kings at Eden Gardens to win their second IPL championship. Following the win, iplt20.com heard from the Mumbai players and coaching staff as follows.
“There are two IPL championships, numerous additional domestic T20 trophies, and an endless array of other titles. I feel like a winner and I thank God for that. I consider myself fortunate. I hope I can continuing winning titles and playing well for whichever team I play for. we began at the bottom and are currently here.”
Rapper Drake was referenced by all-rounder Kieron Pollard after Mumbai emerged victorious after a prolonged stay at No. 8.
“For a very long time, being a member of an IPL winning squad will be the highlight of my cricketing career. I suppose this will change the course of my life. My perspective on the game will shift as a result of my encounter with the Mumbai Indians. I hope that this is only the start and that I will have a lot more exciting things to come.”
