Malinga did, what champions do, says Rohit
Mumbai Indians skipper praises bowlers for digging them out of trouble throughout this season and guiding them to fourth IPL title
HYDERABAD: Lasith Malinga was experiencing one of his worst nights in cricket in the IPL final against Chennai Super Kings on Sunday. He had already given away 42 runs off his three overs and dropped Shane Watson as well.
Still Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma threw the ball to his most-experienced bowler for the last over. Malinga didn’t disappoint. He defended nine runs, took a wicket of the last delivery to help Mumbai seal their fourth IPL crown in seven seasons.
Rohit was ready to carry the cross had the decision to use Malinga backfired but had a gut feeling that the Sri Lankan will be able to pull it off like Mitchell Johnson did in the 2017 IPL final. Malinga repaid the faith his skipper showed in him defending nine runs off the final over.
Rohit later revealed that he thought for a moment to give Hardik Pandya the last over before thinking otherwise.
“I was thinking of it, but again, I wanted to back somebody who’s been in that situation before and done it for us, and Mali (Malinga) has been in that situation so many times, and he’s done it. It was not so difficult.
“Malinga, after going for so many runs in that third over, to come back and win it in the final over that’s what champions do. He’s been doing it for many years for us, and I had a lot of confidence in him, and he was confident as well, whatever target he had (to defend), he could do it.”
The situation was similar to what Rohit had faced in the 2017 final when MI beat the now-defunct Rising Pune Supergiant by one run in another thrilling finish.
Then it was former Australian pacer Johnson, who defended 11 runs in the final over to pull-off a one-run victory. It was that deja vu moment for the MI skipper.
“I clearly remember when we won here in 2017, it was Mitchell Johnson who bowled that last over and defended only 10 (sic) runs. So yes, sometimes you’ve got to go with only instincts, sometimes you’ve got to go a little backwards and think what these experienced players have done and what they bring to the table,” Rohit said.
The MI skipper praised his bowlers for digging them out of trouble in numerous matches this season. In the final as well Jasprit Bumrah and Rahul Chahar bowled tightly to keep the CSK scoring in check.
“Our bowling, in this tournament, particularly was excellent. At different stages of the game, our bowlers put their hand up and brought us back into the game.”
It has been a remarkable season for Bumrah. While the whole stadium felt the nerves in the final, the pacer was like an iceman.
“We know finals can be close, so wanted to stay calm. Winning fourth title for Mumbai makes me very happy. I was surprisingly very calm. Wasn’t panicking, just focusing on the next ball. Doesn’t help taking extra pressure, instead I back my skills,” said Bumrah.
I think we have a terrific team. Don’t forget Hardik (Pandya). We were in the corner in many games this season, and Hardik bailed us out many times SACHIN TENDULKAR