IPL 2019: How five men shaped Mumbai Indians' win

Mumbai Indians played near-flawless cricket to clinch a record fourth IPL crown. TOI looks at the five aces up MI's sleeves, the players who helped them rise to the challenge…

Hardik Pandya


Coming into this IPL, Hardik Pandya was going through the worst phase of his career. After his controversial, sexist comments on a TV show, the India was suspended for a few games. An injury then saw him ruled out of the limited overs series against Australia at home. However, the break perhaps refreshed the 25-year-old, and the controversy clearly egged him to perform in the IPL. Having added the 'helicopter shot' to his armoury, Hardik was unstoppable, enjoying his best IPL by far. In 16 games, he smashed 402 runs @ 44.66 at a tremendous strike rate of 191.42. After Andre Russell, Pandya was the most devastating batsman of the tournament.

Lasith Malinga


It was the first time that a player has been pulled out from the support staff to join the main team, but it paid rich dividend. Since the last few years, Malinga, who now has an extra layer of girth, had lost his sting. This time, though, the blonde-haired Lankan was back firing on all cylinders. It takes guts to bowl the final over of a tense chase in the final after you've gone for 20 in the 16th, but the 35-year-old brought all his experience into play.

Kieron Pollard


MI also value Pollard, who has been with them since 2010. Having endured an ordinary IPL last year, and starting off with a few poor scores this time too, Pollard magically raised his game. His best came in a game in which MI looked to be heading for certain defeat against Kings XI Punjab at home. Reviving memories of the knock which he played in the CLT20 against New South Wales for Trinidad & Tobago, Pollard blasted 10 sixes en route a match-winning 83 off 31 balls.

Rahul Chahar


Arguably the find of IPL-12. Ignored for the Under-19 World Cup last year, the young leggie didn't get a single game in the previous season as Mayank Markande made a mark. However, after Markande was dropped due to poor form, Chahar capitalized on the opportunity, taking 13 wickets in 13 games at a superb economy rate of 6.55. In the final, he bowled an astounding 13 dot balls to finish with superb figures of 1-14 in four overs, leading to praise pouring in from Sachin Tendulkar as well.

Jasprit Bumrah


The 'world's best bowler' produced another evidence of why he is rated so highly, taking 2/14 in four overs in the final. In the penultimate over, he delivered a crucial blow to prise out the dangerous-looking Dwayne Bravo with a 149 kmph delivery. Overall, he took 19 wickets in 16 games, at a miserly economy rate of 6.63. It's no co-incidence that MI have won four titles since Bumrah joined the franchise as an unknown commodity in 2013.

Teamwork and Leadership

Unlike CSK, MI weren't depending on just one player to bail them out. Even as skipper Rohit Sharma wasn't at his best, and Pandya was in the form of his life, it was every nut and bolt that contributed to this machine working smoothly. "No purple caps, no orange caps but who cares? We've got this," Mumbai Indians' tweet in the end, with a picture of the team with the trophy, said it all.