×

Mumbai Indians win IPL 2015; thrash Chennai Super Kings by 41 runs

None of the MI bowlers had an off day, as Rohit''s men became the third team after CSK and KKR to win IPL twice.

Related articles

Mumbai Indians © IANS
Mumbai Indians became the third team to win two IPLs © IANS

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) never got going in their colossal 203-run chase against Mumbai Indians (MI), losing the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2015 final by 41 runs. Lasith Malinga, Mitchell McClenaghan, Vinay Kumar, and Harbhajan Singh were as miserly as they were effective, and none of CSK’s batsmen crossed 57. Updates: Mumbai Indians vs Chennai Super Kings, IPL 2015 Final at Kolkata.

Dwayne Smith was the top-scorer for CSK, but his 57 came in 48 balls. His innings might have been the highest score for CSK, but it ate up far too many balls at the start, as CSK never gained the momentum needed to get going. Michael Hussey was the first man out, having made four off nine balls. Smith and Suresh Raina then added 66, but at 88 for two in the 12th over, they left far too much for the end. Scorecard: Mumbai Indians vs Chennai Super Kings, IPL 2015 Final at Kolkata

Raina created unwanted history when he was out for 28 off 19 balls. It became the first time in IPL history that Raina failed to score 400 runs in one edition of IPL. He ended at 374 runs in the tournament. Thereafter only MS Dhoni was able to get to double figures, and even he could only manage 18 off 13 coming in at No. 4. IPL 2015 Highest run-scorer: List of best batsmen in IPL 8

Dwayne Bravo came and went, Pawan Negi couldn’t get any off the middle, Faf du Plessis — batting at No. 7 — was out off the third ball. Ravichandran Ashwin swung his bat without much success, and Ravindra Jadeja did not manage much either. Mohit Sharma hit a couple of surprise sixes in the final over, but none of the MI bowlers had an off day, as Rohit Sharma’s men became the third team after CSK and Kolkata Knight Riders to win IPL twice. IPL 2015 Highest wicket-taker: List of best bowlers in IPL 8

Earlier, Lendl Simmons and Rohit Sharma added a frenetic 119 to help MI post a huge total of 202 for five against CSK. Despite the early loss of Parthiv Patel, brilliantly run out by Faf du Plessis for a three-ball duck, Rohit and Simmons completely dominated the bowling to set CSK 203 to win. IPL 2015 Leading fielders: List of Best fielders in IPL 8

Rohit continued his fairytale run at Eden Gardens by scoring a sublime 50. CSK would have been delighted at the start, getting MI one for one after MS Dhoni winning the toss and electing to bowl. However, their joy dissipated very quickly thanks to Simmons and Rohit. Bowling the second over, Mohit Sharma was upper-cut for six over third man, glanced to third man for four, and then cut through point for another four by Rohit. Ashish Nehra was not spared either; Rohit pulled him to midwicket and cover-drove him for back-to-back boundaries in the next over.

At the other end Simmons was going great guns as well. Between the two of them, MI were able to get at least one boundary per over more often than not. At the start of the 12th over, MI were racing along at 110 for one. Dwayne Bravo was finally called upon by Dhoni. Rohit greeted him with a cut that took him to 45, and then got to his 50 with another boundary. However, off the final ball of the over, Rohit targetted long-on and holed out to Ravindra Jadeja. Rohit’s 50 had come in only 26 balls with six fours and two sixes. IPL 2015 Most 6s and 4s: List of most dangerous batsmen in IPL 8

The strategic timeout was taken off the next ball. Dhoni then turned to a man who had not bowled a single delivery in IPL 2015 before that one: Dwayne Smith. He struck with his first ball, getting Simmons bowled for 68 off 45 balls with eight fours and three sixes. That united Kieron Pollard and Ambati Rayudu, and it sparked another turnaround for MI. IPL 2015 most dismissals by wicketkeeper: List of best wicketkeeper in IPL 8

Pollard and Rayudu smashed the ball all over the place as well. The duo were united with the score on 120 for three, and were separated with the score at 191. Their 71 runs came off only 6.4 overs. Pollard was the man dismissed, holing out to Suresh Raina off Mohit for 36 off 18 balls with two fours and three sixes. Hardik Pandya gave Bravo his second wicket, hitting a full toss to Raina at midwicket for a two-ball duck. Rayudu continued his charge, scoring a very useful unbeaten 36 not out to ensure MI went past 200.

Nehra was unable to add to his wickets tally. Mohit was carted for plenty. Ravichandran Ashwin had a rare off day. Ravindra Jadeja and Pawan Negi were hammered all over the park. Even Bravo was unable to keep the runs down. None of the bowlers were particularly successful; though the occasional dot ball was bowled, sustained pressure was almost a distant dream. IPL 2015 most dismissals by wicketkeeper: List of best wicketkeeper in IPL 8

Earlier, Dhoni won the all-important toss, and surprisingly elected to bowl first. For a side that thrives on setting and defending scores, the decision seemed to be a surprising one. Neither team made any changes in what was the third final played between the sides. Indian Premier League (IPL) 2015: Complete coverage

Brief scores:

Mumbai Indians 202 for 5 in 20 overs (Lendl Simmons 68, Rohit Sharma 50, Kieron Pollard 36, Ambati Rayudu 36*; Dwayne Bravo 2 for 36) beat Chennai Super Kings 161 for 8 in 20 overs (Dwayne Smith 57; Lasith Malinga 2 for 25, Mitchell McClenaghan 3 for 25, Harbhajan Singh 2 for 34) by 41 runs.

Man of the Match: Rohit Sharma

Orange Cap Holder: David Warner

Purple Cap Holder: Dwayne Bravo

Full Scorecard

Photo Gallery

(Shiamak Unwalla, a reporter with CricketCountry, is a self-confessed Sci-Fi geek who loves cricket more than cricketers. His Twitter handle is @ShiamakUnwalla)

trending this week