Image Credit: Daljit8
Hello Friends,
End of another exciting season of IPL. One of the all time best probably.Isn't it? At the end we can definitely say that the best team of the tournament has emerged as the champion. Mumbai Indians(MI) have been the team to beat throughout the series.Whether individual brilliance or team effort they have been the best. Commendable effort from Delhi Capitals(DC) too. They had a bit of a difficult phase towards the end of the league stage. But the credit has to go to the entire team specially the young captain for an excellent fightback to make it to their first final. Let's have a quick look at the final match.
- Masterstroke by Mumbai while selecting off spinner Jayant Yadav in place of inform leg spinner Rahul Chahar.The move paid off brilliantly when he removed inform Shikhar Dhawan inside the powerplay.
- While playing against a top team like Mumbai in a final one needs to have a great start. But unfortunately Delhi didn't have that.Loosing 3 crucial wickets inside the powerplay was a major blow to their chances. Mumbai bowlers were excellent in the powerplay in terms of their line & length. They were on attack from the very first ball.That's the trademark of a champion team.
- After a decent enough recovery in the middle overs courtesy an excellent partnership between Shreyas Iyer & Rishabh Pant ,they again faltered at the death overs.Some excellent bowling again by Mumbai at the death made their work even more difficult.Like a champion team Mumbai ensured to minimize their mistakes during the most important phases of the match-powerplay & death overs.
- Credit to Delhi team management too for backing Rishabh Pant throughout inspite of his poor form. He tried his bit to repay the faith shown by his team by scoring a quickfire half century. His wicket at a crucial juncture of the match cost his team probably a few important runs.
Chasing a modest target of 157 Mumbai ensured to maximize the batting powerplay. Finally the captain rose to the big occasion & played a match winning knock. It was an average season with bat for Rohit Sharma as per his own standards. Injury in the middle phase of the tournament didn't help his cause either.But he decided to lead from the front at a time when his team needed him the most. His leadership has been outstanding throughout the tournament.Managing his resources accurately, mentoring the youngsters, crucial decisions during the match..he has been an ideal leader. Five IPL wins is the testament of his incredible leadership.
As far as the other teams who qualified for the playoffs are concerned Sunrisers Hyderabad(SRH) gave a tough fight to the rest of their opponents. Overall it was one of the most competitive seasons in the IPL history. This season will be remembered for the individual brilliance like KL Rahul, Jofra Archer, Rahul Tewatia, Devdutt Padikkal as well as complete team performances like Mumbai Indians.Let's hope the next season to be equally competitive & exciting in crowded grounds if situation permits. Big thanks to BCCI officials for making it happen amidst such difficult situation. Kudos to all the players & team management for giving their best. That's all for this season. We all will be eagerly waiting for the next season for sure. Till then stay safe & stay tuned for more exciting cricketing updates at this space.
Image Credit: Bollywood Hungama, CC BY 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
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