IPL 2020: Five famous victories of Mumbai Indians
Mumbai Indians have been the most successful team in the history of Indian Premier League. The Rohit Sharma-led franchise added yet another silverware to their trophy cabinet last year, after clinching their record fourth title. India's cash-rich T20 league sees quite a few encounters going down the wire every season. Let us have a look at the famous victories of Mumbai Indians.
A Pollard special at Wankhede, 2019
Batting first, Kings XI Punjab 197/4. KL Rahul scored a majestic hundred, while Chris Gayle tormented the Mumbai bowlers for 63 runs. Mumbai Indians were reduced to 94/4 with Mohammed Shami and Sam Curran making early inroads. But Kieron Pollard had other ideas. His magnificent 83 off 31 balls steered Mumbai to an improbable victory in the absence of regular skipper Rohit Sharma.
When Mumbai Indians grabbed their maiden IPL trophy
Kieron Pollard has been the backbone of Mumbai ever since he joined the setup. In 2013, the Caribbean batsman propelled them to a title-clinching victory against arch-rivals Chennai Super Kings. His 32-ball 60 helped Mumbai post 148/9. The likes of Lasith Malinga, Mitchell Johnson and Harbhajan Singh later scalped two wickets apiece, restricting CSK to 125. This helped Mumbai to clinch their first title.
A dramatic end to a low-scoring final
After electing to bat in the high-voltage final (2017) against Rising Pune Supergiant, Mumbai crawled to 129. Pune were nearing a comfortable victory with Ajinkya Rahane and Steve Smith standing firm. However, MI's brilliant bowling took the match to the last over wherein Pune required four off the final delivery. Dan Christian failed to complete the third run as Mumbai won by 1 run.
Sachin Tendulkar's masterclass against Delhi Capitals
Sachin Tendulkar, who was in the form of his life, gave the Delhi bowlers a run for the money in 2010. Mumbai gave Delhi Capitals a mammoth 219-run target with the Master Blaster smashing 63 runs off 32 balls. A terrific exhibition of bowling by Mumbai bundled Delhi out on mere 120. Sanath Jayasuriya, Dwayne Bravo and Harbhajan Singh did the trick for Mumbai.
A record fourth IPL title for Mumbai Indians
CSK looked set to lay hands on the trophy again in 2019, having restricted Mumbai Indians to 149 in the first innings. Kieron Pollard was a crowd-puller this time as well (41 off 25). Shane Watson gave CSK a flying start, but MS Dhoni's run-out was the turning point. Mumbai Indians sealed a final-ball thriller with Lasith Malinga defending two runs off the final ball.
