New Delhi:A furious finish from Mumbai Indians middle order propelled them to a monumental total before a chase-breaking over from Harbhajan Singh snuffed out the last of Rajasthan Royals’ spirit, driving Mumbai to their second major title of the year, as they won the Champions League final by 33 runs.
After Chennai Super Kings’s feat in 2010, Mumbai became the second team to win the IPL and CLT20 titles in the same year.
Asked to bat first, Mumbai set an imposing target of 203 and banked on Harbhajan Singh’s four-wicket haul to stop Rajasthan at 169.
The win spoiled the farewell of Royals’s skipper Rahul Dravid, who was playing his last cricket match in any format, but scripted a fairytale end for another legend, Sachin Tendular’s Twenty20 career. It was also Mumbai Indians’second Twenty20 title of the year, having being crown the 2013 IPL champions.
It was a tough chase for the Royals but they batted with such aggression that the small boundaries of Kotla appeared even more shrunken. Despite losing Kusal Periera by the fourth ball of the innings, Rahane and young Sanju Samson (60, 30b, 4×4, 4×6) treated Mumbai attack with such disdain that Royals could well imagine itself near the victory target.
The two spoiled the figures of Mumbai attack, raising 71 runs in the first powerplay, and their 100-run partnership came off 59 balls in just 42 minutes. Pragyan Ojha broke their 109-run stand when he got Samson caught at third man. Harbhajan did the rest.
Amidst the ruins, Dravid (1) walked in for one last time but his stay was cut short by Nathan Coulter-Nile, who yorked his leg stump in the second ball he faced. The crowd rose to give tribute to the legend, known for his solid defence. Royals folded up shortly in 18.5 overs and Mumbai was wrapped in a huddle amidst the haze of fireworks.
Though Ambati Rayudu and Smith played their shots, the run rate did dip after the Power Play overs. From 46 for 1 after six, Mumbai only reached 60 without further loss after ten overs and much of the credit for that went to Pravin Tambe, who bowled yet another splendid spell.
Tambe, with his mix of legspinners and slow swingers, then pushed Mumbai back further with a double-strike, both Smith (44 in 39 balls) and Rayudu (29 in 24 balls) out bowled going for big slogs off flat deliveries. Tambe completed his four overs with figures of 2 for 19.
But there’s a reason Mumbai are regarded as highly as they are and overs 11 to 20 passed in a haze of sixes and fours as each of the remaining Mumbai batsmen turned on the style. The Rajasthan medium pacers lost their line, length and composure. Rohit Sharma’s 33 runs came in just 14 balls, Kieron Pollard’s 15 in ten, while Glenn Maxwell smashed two sixes and four fours in a 14-ball 37. Dinesh Karthik and Harbhajan Singh added a further 22 runs in seven balls, three of those going for sixes.
In all, Mumbai hit 20 fours and nine sixes in their innings.
