#360view: MI vs CSK clash concludes classic IPL season

Joy Chakravarty 11:20 24/05/2015
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  • Clash of the titans: Chennai Super Kings (yellow) and Mumbai Indians.

    The two most powerful teams in the Indian Premier League – on and off the pitch – will be clashing for the 2015 crown today at the Eden Gardens, and it should make for a fascinating battle.

    Mumbai Indians are backed by Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries, the biggest private conglomerate in the country.

    It is the team that spends most on its players and support staff (Sachin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting, Anil Kumble, Jonty Rhodes and Shane Bond), and they find themselves in the final in the most unlikely fashion.

    Chennai Super Kings, on the other hand, are owned by India Cements.

    The company belongs to N Srinivasan, the most powerful man in the BCCI and now the Chairman of the ICC, but he is no longer the owner of the team technically, having sold his share to India Cements Cricketers’ Trust.

    On the field, two-time champions Chennai are the most successful team in the history of the IPL, having reached the final for the sixth time in eight years.

    For Mumbai, this is their third appearance in the title-deciding match, having won once and losing to Chennai in the 2010 edition. They also have won the Champions League twice.

    The two teams are also the most followed teams in the competition. If Mumbai has India’s favourite cricketing son, Tendulkar, involved from day one as a player and now as the ‘icon’, Chennai have Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

    And obviously, they have had a slew of other superstars in their rosters.

    And yet, the journey to the final looked almost impossible for Rohit Sharma and his men after they lost their first four matches, and five of the first six.

    Nothing seemed to be going right for the team, and disillusioned fans had even started appealing for Tendulkar to return.

    Not for any cricketing reasons, but Chennai were in no better place at the beginning of the tournament.

    Allegations of match-fixing hung over them, due to the involvement of Srinivasan (whose son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan had been convicted of illegal betting) with Dhoni’s name also dragged into it, and not many gave them a chance to rise above all the quagmire and repeat their earlier heroics.

    But once Dhoni and his men were on the pitch, it was business as usual.

    They may not have been as ruthless as in the last few years, but they still managed to top the table.

    Chennai’s biggest worry is that their famed batting line-up is struggling. Their four best efforts this season – four 180-plus innings – have all come in the first six matches.

    Even the second Eliminator win against Royal Challengers Bangalore was a shaky performance where they needed all 20 overs to chase down a target of 140.

    Two batsmen who have been their lynchpins in the past – Dwayne Smith and Suresh Raina – haven’t had the best of IPLs so far, but the bowlers – led by Dwayne Bravo, Aashish Nehra, Mohit Sharma and Ravichandran Ashwin – have more than made up for that.

    Mumbai’s amazing run has been sparked by the success of the opening pair of Lendl Simmons and Parthiv Patel.

    They have had four 80-plus partnerships in quick time in Mumbai’s last eight matches, and that has given the platform for players like Kieron Pollard and Ambati Rayudu to provide the acceleration.

    The bowling has been led well by the experienced Lasith Malinga and Harbhajan Singh.

    Both teams have shown terrific character and courage to make it so far.

    One final battle, and a most deserving champion will be crowned after what has been the most competitive season in the history of the IPL.

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