Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma scored a breathtaking half century while opener Lendl Simmons anchored the innings with a superb 68 off 45 balls as Mumbai Indians set up a massive total of 202 for five which eventually proved too much for Chennai Super Kings in the final yesterday in Kolkata.
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Mumbai’s bowlers were on target as they restricted Chennai to 161 for eight, sealing a 41 run victory that gave them their second IPL title in front of a capacity 66,000 plus crowd at Eden Gardens.
Chasing the tough target, Chennai got off to a poor start as Mike Hussey (four) departed early. Dwayne Smith (57 off 48 balls) and Suresh Raina (28 off 19) tried to revive the innings with a 66-run second wicket stand.
However, once veteran off-spinner Harbhajan Singh dismissed Smith lbw, the Super Kings began to lose momentum.
Raina became Harbhajan’s next victim in the spinner’s next over, getting stumped, while Dwayne Bravo (9) and captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni (18) also failed to fire.
Once Dhoni went back in the 16th over, with the scoreboard reading 124 for five, the match was as good as over.
For the Indians, left-arm quick Mitchell McClenaghan (3/25), Lasith Malinga (2/25) and Harbhajan (2/34) were the pick of the bowlers.
Earlier, Mumbai were powered by a 119-run second-wicket partnership between Simmons and skipper Rohit (50 off 26 balls, 4×6, 6×2) as they recovered from the early dismissal of Parthiv Patel in the first over.
#MI worthy winners…Rohit Sharma’s captaincy was the highlight of this season. #IPL
— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) May 24, 2015
Kieron Pollard (36 off 18 balls) and Ambati Rayudu (36 from 24) then put on 71 runs for the fourth wicket off only 40 deliveries to put the Chennai bowlers under pressure.
Rohit continued his love affair with Eden Gardens, hitting Mohit Sharma for 16 runs in the second over before unleashing some superb strokes during his entertaining stay.
For Rohit, it was a memorable day at the venue where he scored an ODI world record of 264 and also a debut Test hundred.
West Indian Simmons took the attack to the Chennai bowlers but reached his half century with a lucky shot, an edge off seamer Mohit grassed by a diving Pawan Negi.
Bravo finally broke the partnership by deceiving Rohit with a slower ball but Mumbai were already well placed at 120 for two in 12 overs.
Simmons was dismissed the very next delivery, yorked by fellow West Indian Smith. Rayudu then joined Pollard, who smashed left-arm seamer Ashish Nehra for 23 runs in the 17th over, that included three sixes and one boundary.
For Chennai, Bravo (2 for 36) was the most successful bowler but it was not enough.
For Mumbai Indians, it was a remarkable turnaround as they had started their campaign on a disastrous note, losing their first four games. They have now won two titles in three years.
