Ball of the tournament seals thrilling Mumbai victory

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Lasith Malinga bowled the ball of the IPL with the last delivery of the tournament for the Mumbai Indians to beat the Chennai Super Kings by just one run in the most exciting climax to any IPL final at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on Sunday.

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With two runs required for victory, and one for a super over, Malinga delivered one of his best, trademark yorkers to trap Shardul Thakur lbw to end a game of the highest drama.

Chasing 150 for victory Chennai limped to 82-4 when MS Dhoni was adjudged run out by third umpire Nigel Llong in a desperately close call but Shane Watson revived their hoped with three successive sixes off Krunal Pandya in the 18th over to revive hope.

Quinton de Kock might have been Mumbai’s villain when, with 13 runs required off the final seven balls, he inexplicably missed a straightforward delivery behind the stumps which went for four byes.

Instead of 13 runs to defend in the final over, Malinga – who had conceded 18 runs to Watson in his previous over – had just nine to defend. But he did so with consummate skill, culminating with that final delivery.

Imran Tahir earlier led an inspired fightback for Chennai as Mumbai, after choosing to bat first, were restricted to a modest 149-8.

Openers De Kock (29 from 17 balls) and captain Rohit Sharma (15) made an ominous start reaching 45 inside the first five overs but both were caught behind by MS Dhoni within four balls before Tahir struck twice more within two overs.

Suryakumar Yadav (15) was bowled by the slider and Ishan Kishan (23 off 26 balls) top edged an ill-advised slog sweep to SK Raina at cover.

TAHIR OVERTAKES RABADA

But Raina turned villain with just three overs to go when he dropped a sitter off Hardik Pandya on just one with the allrounder going on to make a potentially crucial 16 from nine balls.

But the innings was fundamentally changed by West Indian big-hitter Kieron Pollard (41* 3x4, 3x6) who lashed three sixes in the final couple of overs to give Mumbai a fighting chance from a desperate looking position of 101-5.

Tahir finished with 2-23 from three overs to overtake Kagiso Rabada as the tournament’s leading wicket taker but seamer Deepak Chahar, whose brilliant knuckle-ball accounted for two wickets, was the pick of the attack with 3-26 from his four overs.

Emotions ran understandably high throughout the match when umpire Nitin Menon did not call an obvious wide from Dwayne Bravo in the final over of Mumbai’s innings and then when MS Dhoni was given run out by third umpire Nigel Llong in an impossibly tight call involving millimetres.

Despite Proteas head coach Ottis Gibson’s request to have the South African players withdrawn early to join the national squad for pre-World Cup ‘preparation week’, De Kock, Faf du Plessis and Tahir all took their places for the final.

It is the fourth time these teams have contested the final in the 12 years of the tournament – the team batting first has won on all four occasions, first by CSK and three most recently by the Mumbai Indians.

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CHENNAI SUPER KINGS: Faf du Plessis, Shane Watson, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni (capt), Dwayne Bravo, Ravindra Jadeja, Harbhajan Singh, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Imran Tahir

MUMBAI INDIANS: Rohit Sharma (capt), Quinton de Kock, Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Krunal Pandya, Hardik Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Rahul Chahar, Mitchell McClenaghan, Jasprit Bumrah, Lasith Malinga