Sunday 24 May 2015

Magnificent Mumbai slay Super Kings, clinch IPL!

Mumbai Indians came up with a scintillating performance to win the 2015 IPL as they beat Chennai Super Kings by 41 runs in the final at the Eden Gardens on Sunday.

MS Dhoni's decision to field first backfired as Mumbai posted a daunting total of 202 to tighten their grip on the title.

Chasing 203, Chennai needed a flying start but openers Dwayne Smith and Mike Hussey were tied down by the Chennai bowlers.

Although Smith scored a half-century, the likes of Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni, Dwayne Bravo and Faf du Plessis failed to fire as the men in blue were crowned champions for the second time. 


On a night where Chennai had to do everything right, they faltered as their skipper although having won the toss was left to rue.

Earlier, displaying an awesome batting performance, Mumbai Indians posted a daunting 202/5 against Chennai Super Kings.  


Put in to bat, the Mumbai Indians built their innings around two partnerships, as they set an asking rate of 10.15 for Chennai on a flat strip.

A rollicking 119-run second-wicket stand between opener Lendl Simmons (68; 45b, 8x4, 3x6) and skipper Rohit Sharma (50; 26b, 4x6, 6x2) took the team to a position of solidity after the loss of opener Parthiv Patel in the opening over itself.

Kieron Pollard (36; 18b, 2x4, 3x6) and Ambati Rayudu (36; 24b, 3x6) then forged a 71-run partnership for the fourth wicket off only 40 balls to pile on the Chennai Super Kings bowlers' misery.


Caribbean Simmons, who has batted with his characteristic flamboyance through the tournament, opened up in the fourth over, picking up a four and six off Ravichandran Ashwin. A dozen came off the over.

Next he took on Ravindra Jadeja in the sixth over, plundering 14 runs.

Simmons reached his half century with a somewhat lucky shot, an edge, as Pawan Negi only managed to get his hands to the leather before it slipped out. The batsmen ran two, and Mumbai were 98/1 at the halfway stage.

The hundred came in 10.1 overs with Simmons disdainfully dispatching Jadeja to the boundary.

Rohit, who has always found Eden a happy hunting ground, went on the offensive from the word go, smacking Mohit Sharma for 16 runs in the second over, before unleashing some exquisite strokes during his stay in the middle.

Dwayne Bravo finally broke the partnership by foxing Rohit with a slower ball. Mumbai were 120/3 in 12 overs.

Simmons returned in the very next delivery, yorked by Dwayne Smith.

Trinidadian Pollard and Rayudu then came together and beat the bowlers to pulp on the foundation laid by Simmons and Rohit.

Pollard belted Nehra for 23 runs in the 17th over, that included three sixes and one boundary.

The match saw action in the very first over sent down by Ashish Nehra. Jolting the Mumbai Indians, diminutive open Parthiv Patel went back without bothering the scorer, victim of an outlandish fielding by Faf du Plessis.

The batsman went for a flick, but failed to execute it properly, and set off for a run as Plessis closed in on the ball at mid on. However, the South African displayed razor-sharp reflexes, as he dived, lost his balance, but still in one action managed to unsettle the bails.

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