IPL 2017 Final: Knew Mitchell Johnson would take Mumbai Indians home, says Jasprit Bumrah
IPL 2017 Final: Knew Johnson would take MI home, says Bumrah
Jasprit Bumrah was one of the main reasons Mumbai Indians (MI) clinched Indian Premier League (IPL) 2017 title. He finished as the tournament’s third highest wicket-taker with 20 scalps, behind Bhuvneshwar Kumar (26) and Jaydev Unadkat (24). Bumrah was entrusted to bowl the penultimate over of Rising Pune Supergiant’s (RPS) innings, in which he gave away 12 runs, leaving Mitchell Johnson 11 runs to defend in the final over. Bumrah, however, backed “legend” Johnson to defend the vital runs in the final over. Johnson gave away 9 runs in the final over, dismissing countryman Steven Smith for 51 and finishing with 3 wickets in the match. READ: Full Cricket Scorecard: Rising Pune Supergiant vs Mumbai Indians, IPL 2017 Final at Hyderabad
“In the second-last over I gave a six and I was a little worried if we could still come back,” Bumrah said while speaking to BCCI. “But the way Mitchell Johnson bowled the last over was unbelievable. It is during situations like these that experience matters and it helped us. I backed Mitchell to defend it in the final over. He is a legend and you always back a legend to come good during such crunch times. He has so much of experience and has faced such situations before. I knew Mitch would get us home,” he added.
Bumrah praised his side for not giving up till the end, despite setting such a low target. Bumrah said, “We wanted to keep on fighting till the end, till the last over and the last ball was bowled. You always try to back yourself to come back into the game, come what may. We were always behind the eight ball from the start but we never gave up. The way the boys bowled was excellent. It was a brilliant game. We kept on fighting and that is the mark of a champion side. We are proud of the way we played the final and this year. I am very happy.” READ: Pollard feels MI showed lot of character throughout the tournament
Bumrah was happy that he was part of the IPL winning side, that too in a season where he made it to the final for the very first time. “It is a brilliant feeling to be crowned champions. This was my first final and to contribute and end up on the winning side is always brilliant.”