IPL 2020: Mumbai Indians make it a record fifth title

In the end, there was no stopping the Mumbai Indians. The Mumbai Indians kept their date with destiny, successfully defending their title to make it a record five in Dubai on Tuesday night.

Rohit Sharma’s side were virtually bullet-proof as they bested first-time finalists Delhi Capitals with a five-wicket victory at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

After having restricted the Delhi Capitals to a modest 156 for seven, the Mumbai Indians encountered a minor blip towards the end but went on to finish it off with eight balls to spare.

Skipper Rohit, playing his 200th IPL fixture, led the way with his 39th fifty and third this season. He crossed numerous milestones along the way, not least becoming the most successful captain in the franchise competition.

Rohit’s 68 from 51 deliveries that was studded with five boundaries and four sixes, saw the Mumbaikar complete 4000 runs for the Mumbai Indians as well as 3000 runs as captain.

The Mumbai Indians previously won in 2013, 2015, 2017 and last season.

Earlier, captain Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant came up with a fine rearguard as the Delhi Capitals managed to put something on the board after being in trouble early on.

Iyer and Pant pulled the Delhi Capitals from a deep hole with half centuries as they put up 156 for 7.

The Delhi Capitals, making their maiden appearance in the final, were in serious trouble after opting to bat, with their top order gone for 22.

New Zealand left-arm pacer Trent Boult, who had them down in the dumps in Qualifier 1, repeated that by polishing opener Marcus Stoinis with a peach of a delivery before accounting for Ajinkya Rahane.

And with opener Shikhar Dhawan castled by off-spinner Jayant Yadav, the Delhi Capitals were left tottering at 22 for three.

But Iyer and Pant joined forces to see off the challenge before playing fearless cricket. The pair put their head down and stitched together 96 runs for the third wicket.

Iyer scored an unbeaten 65 from 50 deliveries with six boundaries and two sixes, his third half-century of the season and 16th of his IPL career. In the process, Iyer completed 500 runs this season.

Pant, meanwhile, came up with a 38-ball 56 with four fours and two sixes, his first fifty of the season and 12th overall.

Boult finished up with three for 30, while Nathan Coulter-Nile took two for 29.

Brief scores:

Delhi Capitals: 156-7 in 20 overs (Rishabh Pant 56, Shreyas Iyer 65 not out, Trent Boult 3-30, Nathan Coulter-Nile 2-29) lost to Mumbai Indians: 157-5 in 18.4 overs (Rohit Sharma 68, Ishan Kishan 33 not out, Quinton de Kock 20) by 5 wickets.

Teams:

Delhi Capitals: Shikhar Dhawan, Marcus Stoinis, Ajinkya Rahane, Shreyas Iyer (C), Shimron Hetmyer, Rishabh Pant (wk), Axar Patel, Praveen Dubey, Kagiso Rabada, R Ashwin, Anrich Nortje.

Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma (C), Quinton de Kock (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Krunal Pandya, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Jayant Yadav, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah.

james@khaleejtimes.com

• IPL 2024
• Dubai