When the whole world had lost any hope of a Mumbai Indians win in the Indian Premier League final against Rising Pune Supergiant on Sunday night, their captain Rohit Sharma was optimistic of a result in their favour till the last ball.
And that is what exactly happened. Needing 11 in the last over to overhaul MI’s 129 to win, the Mumbai captain handed over the ball to Australian fast bowler Mitchell Johnson as their main death bowlers Jasprit Bumrah and Lasith Malinga were done with their spells.
It wasn’t a move that guaranteed results though as Johnson was all about pace and it is easier to time pace while going for big shots.
With Pune’s Manoj Tiwary and well-set Steve Smith at the crease the target looked achievable.
Tiwary on the first ball of 20th over swept Johnson to the square leg for a boundary. With seven required off five, the task was easier even if they ran singles and doubles.
Tiwary hoicked Johnson’s full delivery with the intention to hit over long on, but the ball landed in Kieron Pollard's hands.
It wasn’t over for Pune till Smith was there at the crease. The skipper repeated Tiwary's mistake and tried finishing off the game in one ball. Smith drove Johnson over covers but found Ambati Rayudu at the deep extra cover boundary.
Seven of three was still gettable, but Johnson’s experience did not let the batsmen – Daniel Christian (4*) and Washington Sundar (0) – have it easy as Mumbai romped home to a thrilling one-run win and their third IPL title in five seasons.
