Lendl Simmons and Rohit Sharma added a frenetic 119 to help Mumbai Indians (MI) post a huge total of 202 for five against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2015 final on Sunday. 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. Live updates: Mumbai Indians vs Chennai Super Kings, IPL 2015 Final at Kolkata.
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. Live scorecard: Mumbai Indians vs Chennai Super Kings, IPL 2015 Final at Kolkata
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 Highest run-scorer: List of best 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 Highest wicket-taker: List of best bowlers 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. IPL 2015 most dismissals by wicketkeeper: List of best wicketkeeper in IPL 8
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. IPL 2015 Leading fielders: List of Best fielders in IPL 8
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 6s and 4s: List of most dangerous batsmen 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) vs Chennai Super Kings.
(Shiamak Unwalla, a reporter with CricketCountry, is a self-confessed Sci-Fi geek who loves cricket more than cricketers. His Twitter handle is @ShiamakUnwalla)
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