Mumbai have last laugh

Hyderabad, May 21

A magnificent death bowling saw Mumbai Indians snatch an incredible one-run victory from the jaws of defeat against Rising Pune Supergiant in a thrilling final of the Indian Premier League here tonight. This was Mumbai Indians' third IPL trophy in 10 editions; and with this win, their skipper Rohit Sharma became the only captain to win a hat-trick of titles.  For Mahendra Singh Dhoni, it was yet another final that ended in a defeat -- fifth in seven summit clashes.

In one of the closest finals in 10 editions, the trio of Jasprit Bumrah (2/26), Mitchell Johnson (3/26) and Lasith Malinga (0/21) was brilliant at the death, defending a small total of 129/8 as Supergiant were restricted to 128/6 at the end. In the final over in which Pune needed 11 runs, Johnson his nerve and kept Pune one run short of the target. Manoj Tiwary smacked the first ball to the mid-wicket boundary, bringing the equation down to 7 from 5 balls. However, the next two deliveries turned out to be a disaster with both Tiwary and skipper Steve Smith (51 off 50 balls) caught in the deep. With four required off the final ball for a win and 3 for a Super Over, Dan Christian went for an impossible third run, only to find himself getting run out. Bumrah and Malinga gave away just 10 runs in the 17th and 18th overs, putting Pune under a lot of pressure.

Tricky target 

The 130-run target was rather small but Mumbai still managed to eke out a thrilling win. Pune needed 47 runs off the last five overs with Smith and MS Dhoni on the crease. With eight wickets in hand and the two stalwarts in the middle, the target looked very much gettable. However, Bumrah induced an edge from Dhoni's bat to bring some sheer to the Mumbai camp. Thereafter, the Mumbai bowlers choked the flow of runs and Pune finished just a run short. 

Mumbai struggle 

Earlier, Rising Pune Supergiant stifled Mumbai Indians to 129/8. The eventual champions were completely off-colour with the willow as they played an astounding 54 dot balls (9 maiden overs) in 20 overs. Save for Krunal (47 off 38 balls), none of the MI batsmen showed the judiciousness expected in a game as big as this. It was because of Krunal's late hitting (three fours and two sixes) that MI managed to reach 129 after being reduced to 79/7. — PTI