Picture Credit: BCCI/IPL
On May 24, 2015, Mumbai Indians (MI) defeated Chennai Super Kings (CSK) by a convincing margin of 41 runs in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2015 final, played at the iconic Eden Gardens. Bowling first after winning the toss, Chennai ran out Parthiv Patel on the fifth ball of the game. However, Lendl Simmons and captain Rohit Sharma stood tall against the Yellow Army and produced sensational knocks from their bats. Rohit departed in the 12th over of the match after chipping in with his rapid 50-run innings off 26 balls.
The next delivery, Simmons also followed his skipper to the dugout with his 68 off 45. Kieron Pollard (36 off 24) and Ambati Rayudu (unbeaten 36 off 18) also showcased their batting mettle in the crucial contest and helped Mumbai deliver a huge target of 203 runs to their arch-rivals.
CSK surrendered on 161/8 while facing MI’s disciplined bowling show
While defending the massive target, Mumbai delivered the early blow to CSK in the form of Mike Hussey, who departed after scoring only four off nine. In the crunch situation, Dwayne Smith and Suresh Raina stepped up and displayed fighting spirit. Both stitched a 66-run stand off 43 balls.
Harbhajan Singh got rid of Smith (57 off 48) and helped MI have a command over the game. After the Windies stalwart’s wicket, Chennai kept on losing wickets at regular intervals. Raina and MS Dhoni saw themselves in the dugout after contributing 28 (19) and 18 (13) respectively from their bats. In the final overs of the innings, Mohit Sharma’s batting effort (21 off seven) helped Super Kings diminish their margin of defeat.
Mitchell McClenaghan emerged as the highest wicket-taker in the game with 3/25 figures while Harbhajan Singh and Lasith Malinga also picked up two wickets apiece. R Vinay Kumar also got the crucial scalp of Faf du Plessis. Rohit, who produced the sensational fifty from his bat, became the Player of the Match.
