Mumbai Indians beat Delhi Capitals to win record extending 5th IPL title
Mumbai Indians rounded off a dominant campaign with a five-wicket victory over Delhi Capitals to win a record-extending fifth Indian Premier League title.
The Rohit Sharma-led side finished two points ahead of the Capitals to win the group phase and their superiority once again told in the final at the Dubai International Stadium on Tuesday.
Shreyas Iyer (65 not out) and Rishabh Pant (56) helped Delhi finish with a respectable 156-7 after a poor start but their opponents had little trouble in chasing down that tally.
Rohit (68) reached another milestone as he moved past 4,000 runs for his franchise with a fine knock on his landmark 200th appearance in the competition.
A late fightback from the Capitals was not enough to stop Mumbai from becoming just the second side after Chennai Super Kings to win back-to-back IPL crowns, as they triumphed with eight balls to spare.
Delhi – competing in their maiden final – were in serious trouble after electing to bat first, losing their top three for just 22 runs.
All-rounder Marcus Stoinis had enjoyed an impressive tournament, scoring 352 runs and taking 12 wickets ahead of the final, but he was sent packing from the very first ball.
Trent Boult (3-30) removed Stoinis and then Ajinkya Rahane (2) soon after, while Shikhar Dhawan (15) offered little respite as he was castled by off-spinner Jayant Yadav.
Captain Iyer and Pant helped steady the ship, however, impressively putting on 96 runs together for the fourth wicket.
The loss of Pant proved important as Mumbai seized the initiative, with Shimron Hetmyer (5) and Axar Patel (9) quickly following – the last five overs yielding only 38 runs
Quinton de Kock put 20 runs on the board for Mumbai before Stoinis, desperate to make amends for his disappointing batting display, got a wicket off his first ball.
But skipper Rohit kept the runs flowing, registering four maximums, while Suryakumar Yadav also contributed until he was run out for 19.
Rohit registered another half-century before a fine catch from Lalit Yadav ended his season, though it was too little too late for the Capitals.
Ishan Kishan (33 not out) moved his side closer to the 157-run target and it was left to Krunal Pandya to stab an Anrich Nortje yorker away for the trophy-clinching single.
