IPL Flashback - 2015: Rohit Sharma guides Mumbai Indians to second title

After being co-hosted by the United Arab Emirates and India in 2014 due to Lok Sabha elections that year, the Indian Premier League (IPL) was firmly back on the Indian soil in 2015. The opening ceremony was held at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata, on 7 April 2015 and the first match was contested between Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders at the Eden Gardens the following day.

Mumbai Indians began their campaign by losing the opening match by seven wickets but the conclusion would turn out very differently for Rohit Sharma’s men as they clinched their second IPL title.

Chennai Super Kings enjoyed the best group stage campaign of any team and finished with nine wins from their 14 games to top the standings with 18 points. All three of Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Rajasthan Royals finished with 16 points but MI came second on the basis of their eight wins, while RCB and RR were separated by their net run rates.

In Qualifier 1, Mumbai Indians set an imposing 188-run target for Chennai Super Kings with the help of important contributions from their top four batsmen. Lendl Simmons top-scored for with a 51-ball 65 that came with five sixes and three fours and set a first wicket stand of 90 runs with Parthiv Patel. The final flourish was provided by Kieron Pollard who smashed a 17-ball 41 with five sixes and a four.

In response, CSK kept losing wickets at regular intervals and folded up for 162 in 19 overs to hand MI a comprehensive 25-run win. Lasith Malinga registered outstanding figures of 3/23 from his four overs to help guide MI to the final.

The Eliminator saw RCB post a mammoth 180/4 off their 20 overs with the legendary AB de Villiers top-scored with a 38-ball 66. Rajasthan Royals never really looked in it and ultimately folded up for 109 in 19 overs to pave RCB’s passage to the Qualifier 2.

In a low-scoring game second qualifier, RCB set CSK a target of 140 for a place in the summit clash against Mumbai Indians. And CSK managed to overhaul RCB’s total on the penultimate ball of the game to secure a win and place in the final against Mumbai Indians.

In the final, Mumbai Indians scored a mammoth 202/5 with the help of a 45-ball 68 and a 26-ball 50 from Lendl Simmons and captain Sharma respectively. Dwayne Smith scored a 48-ball 57 at the top of the CSK innings but there was no other substantial contribution. Ultimately, CSK could only manage 161/8 off their 20 overs to hand MI a 41-run win and a second IPL title.

Sunrisers Hyderabad’s David Warner took home the Orange Cap as top-scorer with 562 runs from 14 games, while Dwayne Bravo of CSK was the Purple Cap winner with 26 wickets from his 17 outings. Andre Russell of KKR was adjudged the player of the tournament.

First Published: Mar 23, 2019 15:25 IST